Internet Scams Offer Resettlement, Employment in EU, N. America

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The U.N. refugee agency on Tuesday warned against Internet scams offering resettlement and employment opportunities in Europe and North America for a fee.
Cyber criminals have been infiltrating chat rooms and other online groups to swindle poor people from Africa, Asia and Latin America looking for a chance to emigrate to an industrial country, said Jennifer Pagonis, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

The victims are being lured to phony Web sites claiming affiliation to the U.N. agency, where they deposit anywhere from US$100 to US$1,000 for the resettlement service, only to never again hear from the supposed U.N. representative, she said.

"UNHCR never charges refugees for resettlement or any other services," Pagonis said. "Resettlement to a third country is used by UNHCR usually for particularly vulnerable refugee cases. Any Web sites claiming to be associated with UNHCR and charging for resettlement services are fraudulent."

While it is unclear how many such sites exist and how much money is being spent on sham resettlement programs, Pagonis said authorities have shut down a number of sites since UNHCR became aware of these scams earlier this year.

"However, the problem is as soon as one site is closed, they tend to pop up again somewhere else," she said.

UNHCR, which has won two Nobel Peace prizes, resettles about 40,000 people each year. It currently has 6,000 employees, many working in remote and hostile areas around the world.(AP)

Beirut, 15 Nov 05, 17:29


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