UK Regulated Visas Fraud, tricks, and scams

It’s the time of the season where a lot of people fall victims to fraud and scams. This page helps you to understand especially when it comes to UK Visas, what to look for, and the use of the Home Office names.

The UK Home Office knows that criminals around the world are trying to use the Home Office name to steal money from people. They use a number of tricks, often known as ‘scams’. This page tells you about the tricks we know about and gives you advice on protecting yourself. If you receive an unexpected email, telephone call or letter from someone who claims to be from the Home Office, it may be a scam. Home Office will never contact you to ask for money or your personal details.

1.How the fraudsters may contact you

Home Office know that criminals are:

• telephoning people in the UK and other countries;
• using websites to offer fake services;
• using email addresses that look official but are not.

2.Tricks they use

The criminals try to make you believe that they can offer you something very easily, such as a visa for the UK, or that there is a problem with your application or visa. They will try to make themselves seem very genuine. They may use language that sounds official and may already seem to know something about you, such as your name and address, or that you have applied for a visa. Then they ask you for money or for your personal information.

We know about the following scams.

• websites that offer jobs in the UK that do not exist. If you apply for one, they tell you that you have the job and ask you to pay visa and work permit fees. That is not how our visa system works, and there are no shortcuts to a job in the UK. A genuine employer would direct you to this website, where you can make an official application. If the job offer sounds too good to be true, it could be a scam. We will never guarantee a job in the UK;
• a person who pretends to be a Home Office officer and goes to someone’s home to ask for money to process his partner’s visa. We will never visit you at home to collect money;
• calls from people who claim they work for the Home Office and tell you there is a serious problem with your visa. They contact people within the UK and in other countries, and often target students. They appear to be genuine and convincing, and may give a false name and return phone number. They tell you to send money as soon as possible using different methods of payment such as money gram, to prevent some kind of action, like deportation or cancellation of your visa;
• people who target applicants for UK work visas. They ask you to pay a deposit as proof that you have enough funds to support you in the UK until you receive your first salary. As part of the official application process, you must give us evidence that you have enough money to support yourself, but we will never ask you to give us money;
• agents who tell you they can get you a visa using forged documents. We have advanced methods of identifying forgeries and will refuse your application if you use them;
• agents who say they can speed up the process of getting a visa. They cannot;
• people outside the UK who pretend to be one of our visa officers and offer to meet you somewhere. Legitimate visa officers will only meet you at their offices and will never contact you to ask for money;
• fake websites designed to look like official ones for the UK government or its official visa inquiry services. The fake website may look slightly different with an alternative layout or misspelled words. Always get your visa information from this website.

These scams have been reported by us to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting center. There may be others that we do not know about.

3.How to protect yourself

You should be suspicious if:

• what they offer seems too good to be true – an easy job in the UK, or a way to get a UK visa quickly and easily;
• they ask you for money, particularly if they ask you for cash or to pay using insecure payment methods such as money transfer, Ukash voucher or Paysafecard (which you buy at a shop). These methods do not allow the recipient to be traced;
• they ask for your bank account or credit card details, or confidential information;
• they demand secrecy or try to force you to act immediately;
• the website does not look professional (badly written or designed) or does not include any information about the organization;
• you are asked to reply to a free email account such as Hotmail, yahoo mail, or Gmail which may also contain poor grammar and spelling. The UK government never uses this type of email account to contact you.

Always get your information from official websites. Official UK government websites always have ‘.gov.uk’ at the end of their website address.

Official Home Office email addresses are always in one of two formats:

• name.surname@ukba.gsi.gov.uk
• name.surname@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

These are the formats of official Foreign and Commonwealth Office email addresses:

• name.surname@fco.gov.uk
• xxxxxxxxx@fco.gov.uk

Sometimes the email address you see on the screen of a fake website or email is in that format, but when you click on it, it creates an email that will be sent to a different address. Always check the actual address on the email you are sending.

If you are suspicious:

• do not give out any personal information, or confirm that any personal information they have is correct;
• do not pay them any money;
• report your suspicions to Action Fraud, either on the Action Fraud website or (only if you are in the UK) by phoning 0300 123 2040.

4.Have you been a victim of fraud?

If you believe you have been a victim of fraud or targeted for fraud, you should inform Action Fraud, either on the Action Fraud website or (only if you are in the UK) by phoning 0300 123 2040.

Action Fraud provides a fraud-reporting and advice center, where people and small businesses can report fraud, attempted fraud, and scam emails.

Your reports will then be passed on to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and analyzed to see if they can be used as part of a police investigation.

You can help to stop scammers by warning your friends and family, and by making Action Fraud aware of any scams that you have encountered.

If you have a UK visa issue or an application pending in the UK at the Home Office, contact ICS Legal on 0207 237 3388 or email us at info@icslegal.com.