| Saving Your Money before Losing it To Fake Visa | | | | airport terminal fee. Knowing that my friends who |
| Providers | | | | went to UK couple of months back were not |
| Are you a national of a developing country aspiring to | | | | required to pay these charges, I called the |
| make your way to Europe or USA? If yes, then you | | | | immigration office in London. It turned put that the |
| must be very very careful against scammers who | | | | numbers which Gerry (or John Nicholas Lindsay) and |
| offer jobs over the internet and rob people of their | | | | the hotel staff used with their names in the e-mails |
| money. Following is what happened to me earlier this | | | | were all UK mobile numbers. I knew at once that I |
| month. | | | | had been taken in for money. After browsing the |
| Browsing the job site I found a call for staff for a | | | | web and doing some research, it was clear that this |
| hotel in London called Embassy Hotel London (the | | | | Gerry/John uses a real postal address of the |
| listing is still there as I write these lines under the title | | | | immigration office but his won cell phone number |
| Job Offer in the job listing). The e-mail address to | | | | along with his name and fake designation as |
| apply was mrs_loveth_bill@yahoo.co.in. So I applied | | | | immigration consular. I contacted my friend Irfan |
| for the position of a receptionist and was accepted | | | | (who is in UK) and asked him to confirm if there |
| for it after an online aptitude test (conducted via | | | | actually was such a hotel called Embassy Hotel in |
| email). I received an employment contract via e-mail | | | | London. I am awaiting his response. Calling back Gerry |
| and signed it, scanned it, and sent it back. The | | | | John, I told him that I wasn’t going to pay |
| hotel’s resource manager Edmund Burton asked | | | | anymore and that he better refund my money or |
| me to contact a consular Gerry Robert in UK at | | | | else I’d bring the matter to London Police. |
| about getting my work permit to UK. I was happy | | | | I’m not sure if I can exactly do that while living |
| and never thought of being deceived at that time. | | | | here in Pakistan. But I felt like warning others like me |
| My e-mail to Gerry was replied by the guy who sent | | | | who are dreaming of flying to UK or the Developed |
| me an application form and asked to pay him 200 | | | | West. For everyone who is living in Asia, I must |
| pounds as work permit processing fee. Interestingly, | | | | beware him/her against paying anyone in UK or any |
| he asked me to pay the money to one John Nicholas | | | | country besides his/her won for getting a visa. The |
| Lindsay (which I now suspect is Gerry’s real | | | | work-permits and visas are issued by the embassy |
| name) in London. I sent the money via Western | | | | or high commission of the target destination in |
| Union on Friday, November 16, 2007. Gerry | | | | one’s own country. No one, if interested in not |
| acknowledged receiving the money. | | | | losing his/her money, should pay any person outside |
| On the 5th day after the money was sent, Gerry | | | | his/her country. Also, beware of people who give a |
| wrote again telling me that the immigration office has | | | | cell phone number instead of regular office line (in UK |
| approved my coming to London for work but I must | | | | the cell phone numbers start with the digit 7) |
| pay another 330 pounds to get my International | | | | Following are the cell phone numbers of people who |
| Vaccination Certificate that will allow me to use health | | | | appear to have robbed to of my money. |
| facilities in UK and also would cover travel tax and | | | | |