UK Sikh temple warns after Indians lured with fake visas, job offers
Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Apr, 2023 10:37 AM
London, April 17 (IANS) A Sikh temple in the UK has issued warnings after fraudsters impersonating as its members tried to trick people in India by making false job and visa promises with an intent of extracting money from them, media reports said.
The Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend placed warnings on its social media pages after they were alerted to fake advertisements titled, "urgently needed in the UK", offering free food and travel tickets for job opportunities at the Sikh temple, the Kent Online reported.
"We had somebody come into the gurdwara last week who is here but her father is in India and she wanted to see if he could come over," General secretary of the gurdwara, Jagdev Singh Virdee, said.
"Her father had been alerted to this ad and asked if it was a job so she came to check whether it's genuine or not, and that's how we first found out about it," Virdee told Kent Online.
Following this, nearly a dozen people got in touch with the gurdwara authorities to enquire about the advertisement, which has been circulated on the internet, and asked people to get in contact via WhatsApp.
According to the news report, some have already gone through the process of exchanging passport information and personal details.
Virdee said that the fraudsters have set up a website domain and email address similar to the gurdwara's.
"They are faking letters as if it's a job offer from the gurdwara, then they're saying to them, 'you've had the job offer now so if you pay over so much money, then we'll arrange a travel ticket and visa'," Virdee told Kent Online.
"Please be aware that the following flyer is being used to fraudulently obtain funds from individuals with a false promise of securing a UK visa and job at the Gurdwara Sahib. Please do not exchange any documents or money with this individual," the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara posted on its website.
"Though the image shows Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara, Gravesend, this is no way affiliated to GNDG Gravesend," it added.
Virdee said that the crime has been reported to both Kent Police and the National Home Office of Action Fraud.
A Kent Police spokesperson said they "received a report on March 29 that an unknown person had falsely purported to represent the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend online, in an attempt to defraud victims".
"Officers have been in contact with representatives at the Gurdwara and are investigating the circumstances," the spokesperson said.
Justice Sally Fitzgerald set a trial date down for five weeks in May 2024. Of the three, a 34-year-old man has been charged with Patel's murder, as well as aggravated robbery. The other two -- Henry Fred and Shane Henry Tane -- have been accused of robbery.
The FWO investigated after receiving a request for assistance from the Indian worker and issued compliance notice to Bhangu Pty Ltd. in September 2021. Thereafter, it secured a $30,000 penalty in court against the operator of the vehicle repair and maintenance business in Brisbane.
During raids at the couple's North London home twice in 2020, police found messages referring to 100 kg packages, cocaine parcels, evidence of drug exchanges, and a conversation about a possible gun deal. Cops also found drugs in a Louis Vuitton box under the couple's bed, as well as 27,000 pounds in cash at his home, apart from cannabis cultivation at the property.
She was a faculty member at Baylor University and worked primarily at Harris Health clinics. Vettical was born in Kuwait in 1970, and received her medical degree from the University of Texas. She specialised in Internal Medicine.
Ashok Kumar Prahladbhai Patel, 40, appeared before US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers on November 24, last year at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St Croix for pre-boarding inspection for his flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During his inspection, Patel presented a fraudulent Florida driver's license, according to court documents.
Nitesh Bissendary, 31, lost control of his black Alfa Romeo in Leopold Street, Ramsgate, England on August 10, killing Yoram Hirshfeld, 81, and his pregnant daughter Noga Sella, 37, on the spot. Sella's husband, their son and daughter aged six and eight, were badly injured in the crash, which occurred when Bissendary's vehicle collided with the family's car.
