The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) have reported that a letter with a phoney CBSA logo is requesting money from immigration applicants.
It is very difficult for a new immigrant or a person who is unaware of Canadian system to distinguish a real letter from a scam letter. Please be on the look out for any suspicious communication.

Common Signs of a Scam:

– Will always Claims that the offer is legal or has government approval
– Will request the client’s personal details
Will contain Instructions to:
– forward money
– call a phone number that charges a fee.
because really if there is no benefit to scammer than why would he go to great length to prepare the scam!
Important Links:

– Protect yourself from fraud. (find the different types of frauds; Internet/Phone/Mail fraud, Marriage Fraud, Irregular Adoption Fraud)
– Report a fraud.
You can Report any suspected fraud to your local police (if in Canada) and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (if outside Canada): Click here

Press Release by CBSA
Here is the complete press release as released by CBSA.

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) clients are periodically targeted by scammers. Most recently, a fake CBSA letter has been circulating that requests funds from immigration applicants. This fake letter makes use of the CBSA logo. This scam occurs every few months and is used by different scammers.

As March is Fraud Prevention Month, the CBSA reminds Canadians and immigration applicants that they can help fight this type of fraud and protect themselves by knowing the signs of fraud and taking action.

Quick Facts

What to look for:

Recognize the signs of a scam and immediately report any suspected fraudulent activity to authorities.

For example, be aware of claims that an offer is legal or has government approval – many scammers will tell you this. If you have provided personal details, you could have your identity stolen.

In general, scammers make their money by persuading you to pay fees or taxes, call their premium rate phone numbers (for which prices higher than normal are charged to you) or send premium text messages to claim a prize. These premium rate calls can be very expensive, and the scammers will try to keep you on the line for a long time or ask you to call a different premium rate number.