Crimes

VIDEO: How Nigerian woman, couple, others lost N9.5m to UK job scam

A Nigerian woman has fallen victim to a scam after paying 10,000 pounds (N9.5 million) to secure a job in the United Kingdom (UK).

It was gathered that the woman, while still in Nigeria, planned to relocate to the UK for employment and engaged the services of a visa agent who assured her of a work visa and claimed to have secured a job offer for her through a UK sponsor.

However, upon her arrival in the UK, she discovered that the promised job did not exist and she had fallen prey to scammers.

According to a report by Sky News, another Nigerian couple faced a similar predicament as they sold their property and took a loan to relocate to the UK, only to find out that the jobs promised by the Nigerian visa agent were illusory.

The couple, like the first victim, lost 10,000 pounds in the process.

READ ALSO: ‘Japa’: UK to ban foreign students from bringing family

“It’s very difficult because most jobs you want to get, they (visa agents) will first of all tell you that actually you’ve got a sponsor from somewhere else… So maybe you should go back to that place to get your job. That’s what they always say.

“We are begging the government if they can look into it,” the couple said in a video recently released by Sky News.

Reacting to the development, the UK Home Office said: “We have robust measures in place to ensure compliance. We will always take decisive action if employers break the rules, including revoking sponsor licences when necessary.”

The report further disclosed that the “skilled worker visa system is being abused, with middlemen allegedly being paid huge sums of money to arrange jobs in the UK as carers that do not exist. Many of those who can’t get work are struggling to survive, turning to food banks and even sleeping rough.”

According to the report, in the 12 months to March 2023, 170,993 skilled worker visas have been awarded. In the health and care sector alone, grants have increased over two and a half times and represent over half of all work visas issued in the same period.

Watch the video below:

The Star

Segun Ojo

Recent Posts

Trump bans CNN, 2 other media outlets from White House

United States President Donald Trump has banned CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House…

36 minutes ago

INTERPOL identifies 126 terrorist suspects with AI

An international counter-terrorism operation involving Nigeria has identified 126 suspected foreign terrorist fighters after authorities…

1 hour ago

FG, CBN sign pact on fiscal, monetary policy coordination

The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria have signed a Memorandum of Understanding…

2 hours ago

Reps probe exclusion of 5,000 NOUN law graduates

The House of Representatives has opened an investigation into the prolonged exclusion of more than…

2 hours ago

Niger miners’ deaths: Survivor recounts what happened inside NSCDC cell

A survivor of the Niger State detention tragedy has alleged that an unidentified substance was…

2 hours ago

Navy uncovers illegal refining site in Rivers, recovers 119,850 litres of crude oil

The troops of the Nigerian Navy, under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, have recovered 119,850 litres of…

3 hours ago

This website uses cookies.