A better life is the motivation for most who want to move out of their island homes and take up residency in countries like Australia and New Zealand.

They want to stay in a place where their family, especially their children have access to a better quality of life, where they have access to better education, better healthcare, a better standard of living, and more money. For those pursuing immigration to other lands, these are the ideologies that they think will provide for a happier life.

Many seasonal workers who experience overseas life for the first time are blown away by how ‘easy’ life can be and all they want is to settle in their place of employment with their families. Luckily, under the new Australian policies, seasonal workers on longer contracts such as three or four years, have the chance to take their immediate family members with them.

Many people want to move to a place better developed and one where there are more opportunities but not everyone fits the criteria for emigration. This is the window of opportunity that many crooks and scammers use to prey on the basic desire of people to live abroad.

Such was the case of a Samoan family that ended up paying close to AU$100,000 (SAT$187,000) to a Samoan woman who had promised them residency in Australia but now believes they have been scammed by their compatriot.

Saivaaia Mauava, 43-years-old, from Faaleasiu, shared in an interview with Samoa Observer the deep shame and embarrassment she is experiencing as a victim of a scammer who fooled her and her family into believing that she could get them Australian visas.

She hopes that by telling her story, people will become aware and not fall prey to such people.

According to Mauava, she met the scammer in October of 2022 through a seasonal worker as she was in Australia under the seasonal work scheme.

She said her sister and she started giving the woman money because it was what they wanted for their family.

The alleged victim in this had no idea of how the immigration process works. Many people do not know. These are the types of people who are preyed upon by the conniving vultures who come in the form of their compatriots, family members, and individuals in the community.

For a fee of $12,000, a visa is promised. Then the scam becomes deeper, what about doing a block visa for the whole family, at the price of $12,000 per person?

There will always be people out there who will attempt to make easy money out of a person’s vulnerability. There were fake employment agencies that popped up promising people seasonal work in New Zealand and Australia for an exchange of money.

Seasonal work schemes are deals made between the governments of two countries and no matter what is sold to you in an advertisement on Facebook, do not fall for it. The result is always the victim losing out on a whole lot of money and the promise is never fulfilled.

When it comes to any visa outside of seasonal work, there is no guaranteed visa. There is a fixed set of rules and only if all the conditions are met will a visa be granted.

When someone says, this is your only chance or once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, this is a false claim. Also, remember no government in the world will ask you to register and pay to show interest.

The scammer may also ask that you pay into a bank account or through a local mobile money wallet. Make it a point to pay your fees personally. All immigration departments require a person to make direct payments to them and never through a third party.

No one has a special relationship with the Immigration Department.

Do not go by verbal assurances. Ask for documentary evidence. It is a good thing to monitor the progress of your visa application personally.

No one can influence the outcome of a visa application or the visa decision-making process. Only authorised officers from the authorised department issue a visa and only if all the visa requirements are met.

Be suspicious if you are contacted by phone, post, email, or approached in person about a visa you did not apply for. Walk away from the person, hang up the phone immediately, or ignore the email/letter! Governments do not contact people out of the blue offering visas.

Never give or send anyone your original identity documents. Government departments may wish to view your original documents in person or may ask for certified photocopies but should never ask to keep your original documents.

Never provide your personal, credit card or banking details in an email or over the phone-scammers will use your details to commit identity fraud or steal your money.

Most importantly spread the word to your friends and family to protect them.