Overseas Job and Work Visa Agent Scam on social media

How it looks on social media, the red flags and what to do.

Social media scams use real-looking profiles, reels, ads and direct messages. The account may look old, and the comments may be bought. Overseas Job and Work Visa Agent Scam is one of the ways this shows up: Agents promise well-paid jobs abroad and collect visa and ticket fees, then vanish or send people with fake papers. Learn the checks to make.

What overseas job and work visa agent scam looks like on social media

• A direct message from a stranger, a "brand" or a "recruiter".
• A giveaway that asks you to pay a small fee or share a code.
• An ad with a celebrity face and a payment link.

The scammer advertises on social media or through a local office with posters of airports and planes. Names of well-known employers may be used. A 'consultant' tells you that a quota is open for a limited period and that only a few places are left. You are asked to register with copies of your passport and certificates and to pay a first instalment, usually to a personal account.

Red flags to check on the social media message

• A foreign job with very high pay and no real interview.
• Large fees are demanded before any visa is shown.
• Payments go to a personal bank account or UPI ID.
• The agent keeps your passport or original papers.
• The account asks you for money after a short friendly chat.
• A stranger moves the chat to WhatsApp or Telegram.

What to do

1. Do not pay or hand over your passport to an unverified agent.
2. Check whether the recruiter is registered through the official government channel for overseas employment.
3. Verify the employer and the visa type independently.
4. Do not pay, share codes or move to another app.
5. Check the account: when it was created, who follows it, and whether the real brand links to it from its own website.
6. Report the account or ad inside the app and block it.

Use Report on the profile, post or ad. If money was lost, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 if you paid online, giving the account details.
2. Tell your bank through the number on your card so it can try to hold the transfer.
3. File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in and with the police, keeping all receipts and chats.
4. If your passport is with the agent, report it and ask for help from the nearest passport office.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio Sentinel's scam check reads the offer text you paste and lists signs like large fees before a visa, a personal payment account and a short deadline. The link check helps you review a recruiter's page address before opening it. Money Shield asks you to verify who you are paying before you send money. It cannot verify recruiters or visas, so confirm through official government channels.

Full guide: Overseas Job and Work Visa Agent Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: phone call, WhatsApp.

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