If you are facing the holiday blues after the summer and are already planning your next vacation, book your visa appointment slot – if you need one – much in advance. That’s the advice from visa outsourcing company VFS Global as visa scamming platforms continue to soar globally.
The company has reported more than 900 fraudulent websites and online platforms globally, which have been taken down, said Anirudh Singh, chief operating officer at VFS Global.
“We've got a dedicated team which identifies directly what is happening,” Mr Singh told The National. The company tracks and investigates information received through emails, social media, and other reporting channels, he said, working closely with UAE law enforcement agencies.
The process is “continuous”, he said, because of the rapid increase in digital usage and new technology.
“I don't see it going down because that's the order of the day. That's the trend these days that we are dealing with, and we just have to keep at it,” he said. “We have to be very vigilant in terms of what we are doing, and at the same time, on the other end of the spectrum are the people.”
There has been a spate of public awareness campaigns from embassies and security agencies as well as companies such as VFS.
In July, Denmark's consulate in the UAE issued a warning over a surge in fraudulent Schengen visa applications.
“The Danish Consulate General is receiving approximately 10 visa applications per day where the documentation is fraudulent or falsified,” Hanne-Rie Madsen, deputy head of mission and consul at the Royal Danish Consulate General, told The National at the time.
“In accordance with EU Schengen regulations, the Consulate General refuses visa applications with falsified documents.”
The Schengen visa allows entry to 29 European countries, most of which are in the EU, to non-EU nationals. Emiratis do not need a visa to visit Schengen countries, but UAE residents from several countries in Asia, Africa and South America must apply.
How scams work
“The pattern is consistent worldwide,” said Alena Iakina, co-founder of visarun.ai, a Dubai-based platform that automates visa processing. “Fraudsters impersonate an official body, create urgency and take money or personal data before the applicant has anything to verify against.
“Dubai Police described exactly this last week: operators using unlicensed company names or posing as official bodies, working through social media and messaging apps. The most industrialised version targets electronic travel authorisations,” she said.
For instance, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, said two years ago that it had identified more than 100 unofficial websites claiming to offer the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias), a planned digital travel pre-screening requirement for visitors from visa-exempt countries travelling to 30 nations.
Some sites copied the official site's layout, some used domains built to look official, and some reproduced EU materials outright, said Ms Iakina.
But Etias is not yet operational, so any site accepting applications “is not a legitimate intermediary, whatever it looks like”, she explained.
In its awareness campaign, VFS said some scammers try to forge the company’s official credentials and email IDs to lure in unsuspecting visa applicants. Under its #DoNotFallForFraud campaign, VFS also warns of common scam tactics, such as fraudsters who claim to sell appointments, and unofficial websites mimicking the company's portals.
The Danish consulate has also warned travellers against using travel agents and websites offering “dummy air ticket” services. It reminds applicants that they are responsible for the documents submitted.
A dummy air ticket is a temporary booking made with an airline, complete with flight details and a legitimate passenger name record (PNR) code.
It has not been paid for and cannot be used to board a flight, but is viewed as a placeholder for applicants wary of paying in full before securing their visa.
‘No guarantees’
Some companies claim that they can guarantee a visa appointment slot within a very short timespan and that you will receive the visa within a certain period. One such agency contacted by The National promised a “guaranteed” appointment in 72 hours as part of their VIP package.
However, Mr Singh from VFS emphasised that all appointments are on a first-come-first-serve basis. Appointment slots cannot be booked in advance without a valid identity and held back to be sold. The company uses anti-bot technology to tighten the process.
“Every appointment is linked to an individual,” he added. “You cannot just book in the name of X and then have Y standing in front of you on the day of the appointment.”
Anybody offering a guarantee about appointments or visas is providing a “false commitment”, he said. “Even VFS cannot guarantee you anything … because [as an outsourcing entity] we work under the instructions of that respective government.
“They lay down what capacity, what numbers, what appointments, which category, what documents to take. It is not something that we determine or define ourselves.”
He added: “Once the application is gone … we have no influence or even visibility of that process.”
But there is an important distinction – travel agencies can help applicants. “Assisting someone with [a visa] application is legitimate and always has been,” said Ms Iakina.
High price to pay
For those scammed by fraudulent platforms, the impact is not just financial, said Ms Iakina.
“The money is the smallest part. An inflated fee is recoverable in principle. A passport scan, a photograph and a full biographical history handed to an unknown operator is not.
“Frontex lists identity theft and data protection risks alongside extortionate fees for exactly that reason,” she said.
“The second cost is time. Visa timelines are unforgiving. Someone who discovers in week three that their application was never lodged has usually lost the trip, not just the fee. The third is legal exposure.”
How to avoid being scammed
The key advice from Mr Singh is simple. “The best way to start your journey always is to go to the embassy website first. On the embassy website, there cannot be anybody's mention or a link other than the authorised service provider,” he said.
Also, try to book your visa in advance if your travel plan is finalised. With Schengen, you can apply up to six months ahead to avoid stressing about a short deadline, he said. For a genuine emergency, applicants can directly reach out to VFS and they will check with the respective embassy.
People should also keep a lookout for available time appointment slots since the schedule is dynamic and slots can open at any point.
Mr Singh also encouraged people to try and make time to research and apply directly through the official channels. And if taking help from someone else, “make the right choices”, he added.
