She came to Canada for university, but she'd never been accepted. The scam cost her $7K
CBC
With an admission letter to a Quebec university in hand, Aminata flew from Benin, west Africa, to Montreal with $2,000 in her pocket to fulfil her dream of pursuing higher education in Canada.
Back in 2022, she'd connected with a man who she says positioned himself as a consultant who could process her documents and submit her university and immigration applications.
But not long after she landed in Montreal and made her way to Chicoutimi, Que., she realized it was all a scam.
She had not been accepted to university. She did not have a scholarship. Her immigration papers were fraudulent and based on a falsified acceptance letter.
"My dream turned into a nightmare," Aminata said.
CBC is using a pseudonym to protect her identity because, due to her falsified immigration papers, she is without legal status in Canada.
Clasping her hands while sitting in her apartment in Chicoutimi, nearly two years after the ordeal, the 30-year-old Beninois still doesn't feel settled or safe.
"I'm living with the fear that at any time I can get deported," she said. "This is not a life."
Aminata doesn't want to go back home now, saying she would have to completely "start again" in Benin.
Aminata was not the only victim of the scam. CBC News has spoken to another woman who says the same man who presented himself as a consultant took her money after he was hired to submit her university applications.
According to an expert, not only is this type of fraud becoming common, but prospective students in Africa are among those targeted by scammers in high numbers.
For Aminata, it all started when she came into contact with the consultant through her uncle. She said the pair agreed on $4,000 before the price for the agent's service went up.
"I gave him all my money," she said, adding that it totalled about $7,000 in the end.
She sent along the required documents — her birth certificate and diplomas. Within a few months, she was emailed an acceptance letter into the master of organization management program at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.
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