Cameroon High Commission in Canada warns against travel scams

The Cameroon High Commission in Canada has called on Cameroonians to be vigilant against scammers and fraudulent persons who extort huge sums of money, promising to facilitate their travel to Canada.

The warning was made public in a release signed by the Minister-Counsellor & Acting High Commissioner, Philippe Fouda Tsilla, on August 9, 2023.

The release states that there are individuals on social media networks who engage in malicious activities by extorting significant amounts of money from Cameroonian nationals. They do this by promising to provide them with work permits and entry visas to Canada.

“These highly reprehensible acts are part of a network of fraud intended, through false promises, to create the illusion of immigration to Canadian soil,” stated the release.

The High Commission went ahead to firmly condemn the “abuse” and assured that it is neither directly nor remotely associated with such activities.

In August this year, a fraudulent network known as Wimba Focus was unmasked in Rond Poulin, Douala, in the Littoral region of Cameroon.

In a video published by MMI on August 17, 2023, a woman could be seen in a near-empty office explaining how the site was used to defraud Cameroonians of their money in the false belief that their travel documents were being processed.

“The owners defrauded about 200 Cameroonians via a fraudulent Canadian work visa programme. More than 200 passports confiscated from them are at the Logbesou police station. Two of the fraudsters have been arrested. One is at Logbesou Police Station, and the other is at Bonanjo. Three others are on the run. Unfortunately, I’m one of the victims,” one of the victims told MMI.

“I am equally a victim of the situation. I feel so bad that they used innocent and ignorant people to achieve their goals,” narrated another victim to MMI, adding that the so-called owners of the agency used fake pictures on their WhatsApp statuses and email profiles while “impersonating a popular Nigerian”.

In reaction, the High Commission has urged everyone to make their loved ones aware of the existence of this network of fraud and to be vigilant.

They have equally noted that “any official document allowing entry into Canadian territory is issued by the competent institutions of Canada, which also have dedicated websites, making all useful information available to the public.”