ISLAMABAD:
Hundreds of complaints have landed at the US Embassy consular section alarming the embassy into issuing a warning to Pakistani visa applicants. The warning asks potential applicants to be wary of spam emails being circulated to fleece people into paying for false visas.
In this scam an email is sent to a person saying he or she has been selected to receive an immigrant visa and/or a permanent resident card for the United States of America. Recipients are asked to respond and pay a substantial ‘processing’ fee.
An official at the US Embassy told The Express Tribune that the message needs to be spread to more people.
The embassy warns the public that such emails are not from the US government and are attempts to defraud Pakistani citizens; persons receiving these emails are advised simply to delete them.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2011.