Fake websites lead to hundreds of complaints from travellers scammed before Canada visits

07/26/2017

The government reports nearly 1,000 complaints of fraudulent websites — immigration officials say there has been 'no change' in the status of the problem

OTTAWA — Visitors to Canada are still getting scammed by fake websites as they apply for mandatory electronic travel authorization, with officials receiving hundreds of complaints in the past year.

The National Post reported a year ago almost 500 complaints about unofficial websites had been received since the government began processing electronic travel authorizations (eTAs) in August 2015.

The number is now up to almost 950, and immigration officials tell the Post this week there has been “no change” in the status of the problem. Many hapless travellers are still unwittingly offering their personal information to non-government websites as they prepare to visit Canada.

Those caught up in scams are sometimes paying up to 18 times the actual cost of an eTA. The fee for the authorizations, now required for visitors from many countries, is just $7, but complaints to the department have stated costs of between 35 and 85 euros, Chan said, or up to $124 in Canadian dollars.

This spring, the Post heard from a person in Amsterdam who said they’d been charged the equivalent of $128 for themselves and three family members to obtain eTAs, having used a website that appeared legitimate.

“After some research I understood that I was ripped off,” they wrote. “Now, with hindsight, I feel dumb but on the other hand, this sort of scam was beyond my imagination.”

The department appears to be doing little to mitigate these issues. Ostensibly, officials can’t pursue legal action unless websites pretend to be the actual immigration department. “Many of these websites clearly indicate that they are not associated with the Government of Canada,” said spokeswoman Lindsay Wemp. They are described by the government as offering “eTA services,” rather than outright scams.

The actions the department has taken in the past year included posting a “Don’t get scammed” video to the web in October (viewed shy of 4,000 times on YouTube), using social media accounts to warn travellers and updating the text on the official eTA website to clarify it’s the “sole official website for travellers to apply,” according to Wemp.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada “does not maintain a comprehensive list of all third party eTA websites,” said another spokeswoman, Nancy Chan. She said the department is aware of at least 10 sites, the same number provided in a response last year.

But at the time of writing, at least five websites charging fees to facilitate an application appear within the first few pages of Google search results. Two from the first page of results — albeit appearing lower down than the official government site — say in fine print they are “not affiliated” with the government. Both also include liability waivers in fine print.

The vast majority of eTA applications appear to go smoothly. Wemp said more than 4.7 million authorizations have been issued since the system got up and running.

Since September, the authorization has been required for U.S. permanent residents, travellers from most of Europe and the Caribbean, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and some Asian and South American countries to board flights to Canada.

Canadians, American citizens and people who hold valid visas for Canada are in the clear.