Top scams of 2025
England: the biggest trap
Most often advertised as warehouse, construction and packing jobs.
“Pay the fee up front”
You are asked to pay a “migration fee” or “insurance” before the employer has issued any documents — the Certificate of Sponsorship.
The resultYour money is stolen. Fees are paid by the employer.
“Show us $1,500”
You are asked to transfer money to a “lawyer’s” account, supposedly to prove you can support yourself.
The resultIt is a scammer’s account. You lose everything.
United Kingdom
Why you will not get a work visa
The UK has two routes that scammers talk about. Neither fits an ordinary worker being promised a visa for money.
Skilled Worker
formerly Tier 2- You need IELTS — an English exam
- You need qualifications: doctor, engineer
Test yourself
Answer both questions.
The main pointAn ordinary worker will not be granted this visa ever — not even if you pay a million.
Seasonal Worker
formerly part of Tier 5- Agriculture only
- Only through government-approved operators
- Placement on this visa is free of charge
If someone asks for money for a “seasonal visa”, they are not an operator. Check whether the company is on the operator list.
Check an Agri-HR operatorThe golden rule of safety
Check the document online — before you pay
Always insist on being able to check your documents online before you pay. You should be able to open the country’s official government register, enter the document number and see your own name.
If that is not possible, in 99.99% of cases you are being scammed.
official government register
An illustration; the data is invented.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland
No language = no visa
Germany, Austria and Switzerland require a language certificate at B1 or B2 for any work visa. Without it the route is closed.
Why there are no vacancies
refugees are already in the EU
- They already hold work permits
- Housing and benefits
An employer does not need to wait three months for you and deal with a complicated visa. They will hire someone already in the country. The chance of getting an offer from abroad right now is close to zero.
Oil rigs and Polish visas
Scam
Oil rigs
Promised $5,000 with no experience? That is a lie. They only take people with the international certificate BOSIET — which costs about $2,000 — and perfect English.
Danger
Polish visas
Working in Germany on a Polish visa is illegal. EU police carry out raids regularly.
The resultDeportation and a five-year entry ban.
How not to become a victim
- Insist on a video call
A real manager does not hide behind texts and voice notes.
- Check photos in Google
A reverse image search shows whether the “manager” or “office” photo was taken from the internet.
- Check the registers
Look up the document number in the official government register, before paying.
The visa is electronic, takes about 5 days and can be checked on the official government website.
Act immediately
Already been scammed?
Here is what to do.
Report it to the police
Go to the nearest station and file a fraud report. Do not expect the “manager” to return the money: you have already been blocked, or will be tomorrow.
Scammer database
Send the details to us
We keep a database of scammers. Send the bot screenshots of chats, voice notes, receipts and photos of the “managers”.
Open the bot and send the files
Warning
“Refund lawyers” are the second scam
If you see an advert saying “we will recover your money from a broker or scammer”, that is the second scam.
The typical scheme
- You are asked to register on a crypto exchange — Coinbase, Binance.
- Then to “activate the account” or pay a “refund tax”.
- Fake numbers are drawn in your account dashboard — worthless figures.
There are no “magic lawyers” and no “crypto chargebacks”.