The complainant met an agent from Barnala through social media who posed as a visa service provider with purported connections to Canadian immigration officials.
Trusting their assurances, he initially sent ₹1.5 lakh as a transfer, then later referred his clients too — all of whom paid large sums for “security deposits” that were promised to be refundable after entry into Canada.
The agents created a WhatsApp group, regularly gave supposed documents, and repeatedly assured the victims that visas were being processed.
Months passed with no visas issued, and ultimately the fraudsters became unreachable — with their mobile phones switched off.