#Article (Archive)

Visa Dealers And Their Victims

Nov 19, 2009, 2:45 PM

Someone's loss is another man's gain. This is how the world goes; at least, the world of scam.

Of late, we've been seeing reports of desperate immigrants being swindled by unscrupulous elements in society. The swindlers give their victims the impression that they can give them visas, notably the UK and American visas, the ones which are most sought after.

They get them to pay as much as sixty thousand Dalasi, which is above the actual official charges.

But out of desperation to reach to Europe or America, the would-be travellers have no choice but to pay this huge money. At the end of the drama the agents disappear as soon as the money is handed over to them.

 If they are lucky, they are able to track down the dealer, drag him to court and make him face the full force of the law.

Unfortunately not all of them have so far been successful, as some of the dealers just disappear into the thin air and are never seen again.

But why are the victims so easily duped? There are two possible explanations: One simple theory is because they got desperate in life and another is that they are just as unscrupulous as the perpetrators of the scam.

If they don't want to be swindled, then they should go through the right channel to obtain their visas. So long as they depend on questionable sources to get visas, they will always be victims of these undesirable elements, who are just lurking around to prey on the next victim.

It is strange that prospective travellers seem not to learn from the bad experiences of others. Perhaps they feel that they are immune to the machinations of these fraudsters.

 It looks as if the more they are exposed, the more victims they get. This is baffling!

"Wrongdoing can only be avoided if those who are not wronged feel the same indignation at it as those who are."

SOLON