How to spot a fake immigration agency in Cameroon

What the Canadian authorities say in Cameroon

On 2 June 2026, the High Commission of Canada in Cameroon held a media briefing on immigration fraud in Yaoundé, together with the International Organization for Migration. According to Cameroon Tribune, networks use fake job offers, counterfeit bank statements and cloned government websites. Officials stressed that applicants remain responsible for their file, even when an intermediary falsified a document.

Two days later, on 4 June, IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) held a similar session in Douala, urging the public to use official channels only and to verify representatives.

Warning signs

Any one of these signs is enough to stop and check:

• You are promised a « guaranteed » visa, job or admission. The Government of Canada is clear: nobody can guarantee you a job or a visa for Canada.
• You are offered guaranteed entry or faster processing for a fee. These are fake offers.
• You are asked to pay official visa fees to a person, by Mobile Money, Orange Money or on WhatsApp, instead of the authority's official website.
• Services are advertised as free, then you are asked for money.
• You are told to pay quickly before a « spot » disappears.
• Nobody gives you a receipt, or you get a paper with no name, no address and no reference.
• You are advised to lie or to add a « fixed » document: you are the one who will face the consequences.
• There is no office, or the office keeps moving, and everything happens by message.

Who may represent you before IRCC?

For Canada, IRCC sets the rule. Anyone who represents or advises you for a fee must be authorized. Authorized paid representatives are:

• lawyers and paralegals in good standing with a Canadian provincial or territorial law society;
• notaries in good standing with the Chambre des notaires du Québec;
• immigration and citizenship consultants in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC).

How to check a representative

IRCC does not deal with representatives who charge a fee without being authorized, and an application that uses an unauthorized representative may be returned or refused. Using a representative does not draw special attention to your application and does not mean it will be approved. You do not need one at all.

To check a consultant, ask for their full name and membership number, then look them up in the CICC public register. For a lawyer, check the directory of their provincial law society. If the person is not listed, do not use their services.

Basic rules for your payments

According to IRCC, its staff will never ask you to deposit money into a personal bank account, will never threaten you and will never ask for payment by phone. IRCC does not send visas by e-mail.

Official fees are paid to the authorities through their official channels. An agency's own fees should always come with a receipt showing the agency's name, the date, the amount and what the payment is for.

For France and Belgium

The same reflexes apply. For France, visa applications go through the official France-Visas website, and studies through Campus France Cameroun. For Belgium, the Immigration Office publishes the residence rules on its website. Always check the web address: a fake site can copy the colours and logo of a real one.

Do you think you have been scammed?

Keep every piece of evidence: messages, receipts, phone numbers, screenshots. For Canada, report the fraud to IRCC on its official reporting page. In Cameroon, you can also file a complaint with the authorities.

How ALORIA works, openly

We encourage you to ask these questions of any agency, including us. Here is what you can check at ALORIA:

• An office you can visit: ALORIA Agency SARL, in Ndogbong, near Pharmacie Ndogbong, Douala, Monday to Saturday.
• No promise of a visa: the decision belongs to the country's authorities, and we tell you so from the first appointment.
• An official receipt for every confirmed payment, with a QR code to check it was issued by the agency.
• A client space on your phone: the current step, your documents checked one by one, your receipts and your messages with your advisor.
• Fees discussed at the appointment, according to your situation, and official fees paid to the authorities through their official channels.