Staying safe from fraud

Fraud aimed at internationally mobile people is professional, patient and plausible. It works because it offers exactly what the person needs at the moment they need it most. Knowing its shape is the best protection there is.

Never pay for immigration success

No government, university or legitimate employer guarantees a visa. Anyone who guarantees an immigration outcome in exchange for money is committing fraud, without exception.

The claims that are always false

A guaranteed visa, residence permit or work permit.
A guaranteed job, placement or sponsorship.
A fee to apply for a job, or to be considered for one.
A processing or registration fee paid to a recruiter rather than to a government.
Payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer or to a personal account.
An offer made with no interview, or one that expires today.
A scholarship that requires you to pay in order to receive it.
Someone claiming to be a government officer who demands immediate payment by phone.

If someone is holding your documents

An employer, agent or landlord keeping your passport is not a normal arrangement and is unlawful in most countries. If it has happened to you, treat it as urgent and contact your local authorities or ASSPIN — it is one of the strongest indicators of exploitation there is.

How to check something that claims to be from ASSPIN

ASSPIN never asks for your password, and never asks for it by email.
ASSPIN emails never describe your case. If a message tells you details about your situation, it did not come from ASSPIN.
ASSPIN never asks you to pay a professional through ASSPIN, and discloses any fee arrangement on the referral itself.
When in doubt, do not use the link. Go to the site yourself and sign in.

If you have already paid someone, you are not the first and it is not your fault. Report it — to ASSPIN, and to the police or consumer authority where you are. Reporting quickly is what occasionally recovers money, and it is what stops the same listing reaching the next member.