Fraudsters pretending to be employees from VFS Global are selling fake Schengen visa appointments in the United Arab Emirates, according to a spokesperson from the visa application company.
The spokesperson told Arabian Business that this year, there has been noted a surge in the number of fraudsters offering to sell fake appointments.
“There has been an increase in fraudsters this year who are taking advantage of people by selling appointments. We have seen some people come into the center with appointment confirmations which are fake and were unfortunately scammed by these fraudsters,” VFS Global’s Deputy Head of the UAE, Monaz Billimoria, pointed out.
According to the report, the increase comes after pent-up post-Coronavirus travel demand has created significant challenges for residents of UAE countries to secure a Schengen visa appointment during the peak season in summer, thus leading a large number of people to reschedule their holiday plans or cancel them altogether.
Billimoria said that they have seen some people come into the center with fake appointment confirmations that were “unfortunately” scammed by these persons.
“We are trying our best to raise awareness on this issue because many people have fallen for this scam. We have even contacted the required authorities and are carrying out our own investigations on the matter,” VFS Global’s Deputy Head of the UAE said.
She said that scammers continue to take advantage of the “revenge travel” demand as well as the lack of appointments made eligible by Schengen zone states’ embassies located in the United Arab Emirates.
Even though Schengen visa demand has increased, the company is ineligible to increase appointment availability after it allocates appointments in line with embassy and consulate guidelines, taking into account its capacity to review all applications.
Schengen Visa delays led a large number of the United Arab Emirates to choose countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia instead of European ones.
According to Online Travel Agencies, residents from UAE countries are continuously choosing countries in the East and in the Indian Ocean after delays in getting appointments for Schengen Visas are increasing.
Fraud cases related to Schengen visa applications are not few. In June this year, security personnel members at VFS Global, the Visa Application Center located in Delhi, India, detected a group of seven applicants who were carrying forged documents in order to apply for visas for Italy.
