“Schengen” dates for sale…an electronic black market that swallows travelers’ money

Emirates Today monitored advertisements on social media about opportunities to obtain early appointments to apply for a “visa” to enter the European Union (Schengen) countries, and other countries such as the United States, outside the framework of official channels.

Traders revealed that they had been subjected to fraud by intermediaries promoting these advertisements, and reported that they had paid varying sums of money, amounting to 4,000 dirhams, to obtain early appointments, in light of the scarcity of appointments, especially during travel seasons to Europe and the United States. After paying these sums, these intermediaries stopped responding to them.

For her part, the regional head of VFS Global, the authorized body for receiving applications and booking Schengen visa appointments, Monaz Bilimoria, told Emirates Today that appointments are officially and equally available to everyone via the Internet, warning against being deceived by tempting offers promoted by fraudulent parties for faster appointments via social media platforms and the Internet.

While Hossam Fathi Saleh, a marketing manager at one of the immigration services companies, told Emirates Al-Youm that appointments are officially offered through the websites of embassies and are available to everyone, and what happens is that companies follow the status of appointments and inform their clients that there are opportunities in one embassy rather than another, but no party can book an appointment and register it later in the name of another person, and those who promote this are fraudsters who take advantage of people’s need to travel quickly.

In turn, the arbitrator and legal advisor, Mohamed Najib, said that the Law on Combating Rumors and Cybercrimes stipulates deterrent penalties for perpetrators of such criminal methods, up to imprisonment for a period of not less than one year, and a fine of not less than 250 thousand dirhams and not exceeding one million dirhams, for anyone who uses any fraudulent method, takes a false name, or assumes an incorrect identity via the Internet or any information technology means to seize the money of others.

In detail, M.K. said that he was in dire need to travel to Europe last summer, and he spoke more than once on the phone with intermediaries and a number of his friends about whether there was an opportunity to obtain a faster appointment to apply for a Schengen visa, in light of the lack of appointments available on embassy websites for periods of up to four months.

He added that he was surprised by advertisements that began to appear before him on social media platforms, offering “guaranteed” appointments to apply for “Schengen” for 3,500 dirhams, so he contacted the number registered on the advertisement, and the other party told him that he had a connection with the employees of the visa center, allowing him to provide an appointment after only two days, and once the required amount was transferred, the appointment would appear on the center’s system.

He pointed out that he was in dire need of travel, so he decided to risk the required amount, transferred it to him, and waited for confirmation of the booking date, but the intermediary completely disappeared, and he did not receive any official confirmation, only to discover later that he had fallen victim to a fraud.

(S.A.) reported that he contacted one of the promoters of these advertisements, and asked him for 3,000 dirhams in exchange for scheduling an early appointment for him, and sent him an actual copy of a reservation bearing his name after only two weeks, pointing out that he transferred the amount, and after a few days he waited for confirmation of the appointment, but he did not receive anything on his e-mail or phone, so he contacted the center only to be shocked that there were no appointments registered in his name.

For its part, M.A. stated that she contacted a party that published advertisements on social media platforms about the availability of opportunities for VIP appointments to apply for a visa to visit the United States, and asked her for 4,000 dirhams just to secure the appointment, in addition to the usual fees, pointing out that she backed down from the idea for fear of being exposed to fraud, in addition to the fact that the amount requested was exaggerated.

In addition, the regional president of VFS Global, the authorized body for receiving applications and booking Schengen visa appointments, Monaz Bilimoria, told Emirates Today that the company has repeatedly warned of those who take advantage of seasonal pressure on visas, and promote in the name of the company or independently through social media sites a “guaranteed appointment” service in exchange for high sums.

She stressed that this method is considered a form of fraud, because reservations are made exclusively through its website, free of charge for everyone, and with a unified mechanism that does not give any party an advantage.

She added that the VFS business model is based on neutral administrative services, which does not include selling appointments or ensuring the acceleration of any transaction, noting that decisions related to visas are the responsibility of embassies and consulates alone, and no intermediary, whatever it may be, has the ability to bypass this path or influence it.

She confirmed that the company adopts a zero-tolerance policy for any unethical practices, and that it has taken a number of proactive measures to protect the reservation system from fraudulent use, including means to prevent bot attacks and monitoring technologies associated with applicants’ touchpoints, in addition to periodic audits conducted by partner government agencies.

Regarding the presence of “intermediaries” capable of obtaining exceptional appointments, Bilimoria stressed that no one has any additional authority, and that all appointments are offered electronically through its official website, and rely on the principle of “priority to those who book first.” She also explained that selling appointments or transferring them to others is not legally possible, as only the applicant can cancel his appointment or reschedule it.

The company warned against dealing with any entities that promise early appointments, guaranteed results, or faster treatment, and described these claims as misleading and may be fraudulent.

She added that the company does not charge any fees for booking appointments through its official website, noting that only some governments require that service fees be paid in advance to ensure that the system is used by actual applicants, and to protect it from misuse and fraud.

She appealed to travelers to apply as early as possible, given the high demand, pointing out that many countries, including Schengen countries, allow applications up to six months before the travel date, stressing that the only safe way is to book through the official channels: the VFS Global website or the websites of the relevant embassies and consulates.

In turn, the marketing director of one of the companies specialized in visa and immigration services, Hossam Fathi Saleh, said that service companies do not have any ability to extract appointments that do not exist in embassy systems, and do not have “special windows” or “back channels” to reach exceptional appointments.

He added: “We access the embassies’ reservation systems in the same way as any regular applicant. If the embassy does not issue new appointments, no party – whether a company or an individual – will be able to provide an appointment that is not already offered in the system.”

He explained that what is happening in the market is an exploitation of the state of pressure and the lack of appointments, pointing out that “there is no such thing as selling an appointment that is not offered, and what happens is that some brokers take money from the client and then start looking for an appointment. If they find an appointment, they add a large commission to it, and if they do not find it, the broker begins to evade or procrastinate.”

He continued that his company and the legal companies that care about their clients resort to alternative solutions in the event that an appointment is not available for a specific country within the Schengen area, such as proposing to apply through another country, then continuing the journey to the main destination.

He stressed that changing appointments or transferring them from one person to another is not legally possible, explaining that when the appointment is booked in the name of the applicant, it cannot be transferred to another person, and any change requires a new booking and a new cost, and there is no mechanism for transferring the appointment from one name to another.

He stated that reasonable fees for serving companies should be for checking papers, providing advice, and following up on the application, and usually range between 100 and 150 dirhams, and not thousands of dirhams as some promote.

He stressed: “The large sums of money that are requested in exchange for (just an appointment) represent explicit exploitation of the customer. Accredited companies charge fees for real services, not for a promise that cannot be implemented.”

Saleh said, “The market is witnessing great exploitation due to seasonal pressure, but the truth is that appointments are offered electronically and run out quickly, and no one can control that. Applicants must rely on official websites, start their procedures early, and not be drawn in by the tempting claims that spread across the Internet.”

For his part, the arbitrator and legal advisor, Muhammad Naguib, said that “selling visa appointments” is legally considered a form of fraudulent practices, if elements are present in it, including the intermediary obtaining money in exchange for a promise that is incorrect or unverifiable in the first place.

He added, “UAE law criminalizes any behavior that involves deception, deception, or exploitation of a person’s need to achieve an illegal benefit. Therefore, any intermediary who charges a sum in exchange for providing an appointment for which he does not have the authority, or who provides incorrect descriptions of his (abilities) in reaching appointments that are not offered, is subject to criminal liability.”

---

Electronic fraud

The arbitrator and legal advisor, Mohamed Najib, said that seizure through official systems makes the sale, transfer of appointment, or claim of having special access matters that have no basis in reality, which makes the basis of the transaction invalid, because it is based on something prohibited and unenforceable.

He added that the large price discrepancy imposed by some intermediaries falls within the framework of consumer exploitation, and in some cases it may be considered “digital fraud” if it is done via electronic means.

Najib continued: “When a person takes advantage of others’ need to travel, and offers them an appointment in exchange for an exaggerated amount, or obtains money before the appointment actually exists, this amounts to a crime (electronic fraud), according to the Anti-Cybercrime Law.”

He stressed that “the affected person can file a report immediately if he is exposed to fraud, whether regarding the loss of money or the provision of false information, and he can also demand a refund of amounts and compensation for damages if it is proven that the broker made incorrect promises, or practiced any form of deception.”

He continued, “Companies may not present themselves as being able to guarantee a visa or provide an exceptional appointment, if their role is purely administrative,” noting that exceeding this role exposes them to accountability.