Travel smart
Protect Your Travel Dream.
Being careful is not a lack of ambition. Most people who lose money to travel fraud were simply moving quickly, trusting the wrong person, and hoping. These are the patterns worth recognising, and the checks that take an afternoon.
Warning signs
What fraud looks like before it happens.
None of these signs means a person is definitely defrauding you. Each one means the conversation needs verification before money moves.
Guaranteed approval
No one can guarantee a visa, permit or passport outcome. Decisions are made solely by the relevant authority, so a guarantee is a promise the person cannot keep.
Unverified job offers abroad
Positions with no named employer, no interview and no written contract are a common front for advance-fee fraud. Verify the employer independently before discussing money.
Unexplained advance payments
Requests for “processing”, “clearance” or “reservation” fees to personal accounts or mobile money wallets, especially before anything is explained in writing, should stop the conversation.
Documents you did not apply for
Offers of ready-made bank statements, employment letters or invitations are document fraud. The applicant carries the consequences, not the person who supplied them.
No written terms
A legitimate adviser will put scope, fees and responsibilities in writing. Refusal to do so is a warning sign, not a negotiating position.
Pressure is the tool, not the urgency
Genuine deadlines come from published processing times, not from a stranger's message at midnight. If someone says the price rises tomorrow unless you pay today, treat that as information about them.
Before you pay
Six checks worth the time.
These are the questions a legitimate adviser expects, and answers in writing.
- 01
Verify the adviser or agency's identity and registration independently, using a channel you found yourself.
- 02
Ask for written scope, fees and refund terms before any money changes hands.
- 03
Pay only to a verified business account in the name you have checked, not to a personal wallet on request.
- 04
Read the destination country's official immigration website for requirements and official fees.
- 05
Keep copies of every message, receipt and document you send, and note who you spoke to and when.
- 06
Take your time. Urgency and deadlines are tools of fraud far more often than they are tools of good advice.
Share the guide
Protect your travel dream, on one page.
Our official flyer brings the warning signs and the checks above together in a single sheet you can save, print, or send to someone who is planning a trip.
An honest note
Guidance reduces risk. It cannot remove it.
Independent guidance helps you understand the requirements that apply to you, avoid the mistakes that cost people money, and recognise when a matter needs a qualified lawyer. It cannot eliminate every risk, and no adviser, including us, can guarantee an application outcome. Visa and permit decisions are made solely by the relevant authority.