I believe a relative is being scammed...

By a woman in Ghana, named Vivian Kudiabor. Her story is that she's in her early 30's, is a nurse, and is furthering her education to become an anesthesiologist's assistant. I'm trying to convince him she's not legit as he's already sent her 800 GHS. He thinks that was legit, as she supplied a receipt. He was recently contacted in the middle of the night by a travel agent from http://www.uniquetravel.page.tl/HOME.htm with a list of fees to get Vivian to the US....

Anyway, I came across an online article a few weeks ago about a set of good questions to ask a scammer, questions they'd avoid answering etc. I didn't boookmark it and now cannot find it. Can anyone here give me some tidbits that I can pass along to him in my quest to make sure he doesn't get taken for more than he already has?

Thanks in advance!

Hi katy51445 and Welcome to scamwarners

Sorry to hear about your friend

It's 100% scam. The scammer will keep asking for imaginary fees from your relative until he can't pay anymore. Here are some red flags :

1- The travel agency uses a free website from here http://www.page.tl/ (You can do one in 5 minutes)

2- Also, they use a free hotmail account !

3- I'm not aware of any Westerner who uses the name ******** ? It seems that they are using the same name of a Ghanaian person?
4- No travel agency will apply for a US visa on behalf of people, the person needs to go to the US embassy and apply from there.

5- If she is genuine, your relative can tell her to apply for a visa (it won't cost much), then he can himself book a flight for her online, and send her the ticket (I bet she will refuse)

All the best

Edit: name removed

I am working on the travel agency site (acutally sites - i've discovered some siblings of the same gang) and hope that they will be closed down soon.

I am assuming that she has sent pictures to your relative? If that's the case; do the following:

The odds are big that she is actually a he, and that he has used pictures of someone else, which he found online. You can tell your relative that he has to ask for a personalised picture - as example ask for a picture with a sign where she is holding his name in one hand and blowing a kiss with the other. Certainly not an unreasonable request, and personalised in a way it can't be found online. The odds are very big that they will come up with an excuse "I don't have a camera" (or even worse "I need some money to buy a camera as my old one is broken") or with a bad photoshop. Scammers using pictures of themselves or of people they know personally are very, very rare so there is no way that they'll be able to come up with a real picture.

Update - uniquetravel.page.tl and skytravel.page.tl have been closed down due to their involvement in fraudulent activities.

Excellent! Thanks for all of this! I'm going to try to obtain and post the documents that he's gotten from her to see if you guys can offer any further insights!

Thanks!!!

Excellent job Michael

Another update: I removed the name they use in their scam because I obtained some information and pictures about this specific name.

I will pm you these information, if it's the same, then I hope your relative won't need any other proof

Welcome again to scamwarners

The following are some correspondence received by my relative:

[color=#0000BF]UNIQUE TRAVELS
UNIQUE TRAVEL AND TOURS
No. 54 Adiona Rd, 55th street Accra. Near Asilman Highway.

Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.uniquetravel.page.tl

Hello([NAME REMOVED FOR PRIVACY),
am really sorry for the delay okay. I was very busy with making documents for two of my clients who wants to travel to Europe. I have spoken with Vivian this morning and i told her that am going to send you the cost of the documents. I have send you a copy of the documents and the amount involve, so check it and write me back as soon as possible. Thank you very much..
B***** N[*******



I also have two images I'd like to share of the price breakdown from the travel agency, and the other is of a receipt, but I'm not sure how to post pictures here.

Hi there,

A thread describing how to post pictures is here: http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewto ... =28&t=3219
If you have any trouble posting them, you can send them to my email adress and I'll post them for you tomorrow

The travel agency sites have been closed down, but it is possible that they return with a new adress with the excuse of "the old site is undergoing maintenance, now you can find us at..." If that is the case, do not hesitate to contact me and I'll take care of that asap

I've managed to incorrectly add the images. Working links coming soon...

Thanks Michael!

Assuming we are talking about traveling from Ghana to the US here:

There are a few types of visas.

Non-immigrant is easiest to get, and means that the person is just visiting. The applicant has to schedule a personal interview at the embassy (it often takes weeks to get on the calendar, the embassy says that travelers should allow up to 3 months to have the required documents in place) and the applicant is required to show proof that their ties to Ghana are strong enough that they have reason to return. There is no medical report or police report required, and the visa fee is less than $150. I have never heard of a "residential permit" fee, and $300 for a bank statement is ludicrous!!!!

The fiancee visa is the one that a real person would most likely use. But here's the deal. In addition to several other requirements, in order for a fiancee visa to be obtained, the US resident must have visited with the fiancee IN PERSON in the past 2 years. The only exception to this rule would be arranged marriages when it is the accepted norm for the culture (for example I had a co-worker from India whose family was back in India---his marriage was arranged and the family sent his bride to the US--he had never met her but it fell into the exemption). Your relative's situation clearly does not fall into the exception, and "she" has never met your relative in person. They couldn't just lie--Immigration does not take people's word for it, either--evidence is required! Therefore his "fiancee" would not qualify.