The British High Commission in Dhaka has urged all to remain alert about work visa scams targeting Bangladesh nationals as it noticed an increase in online employment scams.
The high commission came up with the call in a statement issued on Thursday.
“The British High Commission, Dhaka is seeing an increase in online employment scams targeting Bangladesh nationals. People fall victim to these scams when they receive false offers of employment in the UK from websites and e-mail addresses for jobs that do not exist,” the high commission said.
“The scammers provide the victims with multiple false documents, including some they claim are issued by the Home Office of Britain and other UK government departments, which is untrue. They ask the victims to make payments to secure their ‘work permit’ and ‘visa application’, but this information is false,” it added.
The high commission also said that fraudsters may advertise overseas employment through different job websites or contact potential victims directly.
It also mentioned some tactics, usually carried out by the fraudsters, including setting up fictitious job offers using details of UK businesses who are not actually offering any employment and using fictitious telephone numbers, names of officials and email addresses that may appear official but are not.
Pointing out that the fraudsters may also ask for a registration fee to secure a work permit and UK visa, the high commission said there is no such thing as an ‘employee registration fee’ in relation to UK visas.
It reminded all that, visa aspirants should not be asked to deposit any payment prior to making a visa application.
“The correct entry clearance application process can be found at gov.uk website,” the high commission said.
The British authorities will not ask any visa aspirants to send your personal documents – like certificates, bank details, professional details – to anyone claiming to be from the Home Office or United Kingdom Visas and Immigration.
It said a genuine employer would direct you to the official GOV.UK website, where you make an official visa application.
The high commission urged all to inform nearest local police station if they receive any suspicious emails or other communication from someone claiming to be from the British Home Office and requesting personal information.
It also requested to report an immigration (visa) or customs crime on the website of British government (www.amsallegations.homeoffice.gov.uk).