A Nigerian woman has fallen victim to a scam after paying 10,000 pounds (N9.5 million) to secure a job in the United Kingdom (UK).

It was gathered that the woman, while still in Nigeria, planned to relocate to the UK for employment and engaged the services of a visa agent who assured her of a work visa and claimed to have secured a job offer for her through a UK sponsor.

However, upon her arrival in the UK, she discovered that the promised job did not exist and she had fallen prey to scammers.

According to a report by Sky News, another Nigerian couple faced a similar predicament as they sold their property and took a loan to relocate to the UK, only to find out that the jobs promised by the Nigerian visa agent were illusory.

The couple, like the first victim, lost 10,000 pounds in the process.

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“It’s very difficult because most jobs you want to get, they (visa agents) will first of all tell you that actually you’ve got a sponsor from somewhere else… So maybe you should go back to that place to get your job. That’s what they always say.

“We are begging the government if they can look into it,” the couple said in a video recently released by Sky News.

Reacting to the development, the UK Home Office said: “We have robust measures in place to ensure compliance. We will always take decisive action if employers break the rules, including revoking sponsor licences when necessary.”

The report further disclosed that the “skilled worker visa system is being abused, with middlemen allegedly being paid huge sums of money to arrange jobs in the UK as carers that do not exist. Many of those who can’t get work are struggling to survive, turning to food banks and even sleeping rough.”

According to the report, in the 12 months to March 2023, 170,993 skilled worker visas have been awarded. In the health and care sector alone, grants have increased over two and a half times and represent over half of all work visas issued in the same period.

Watch the video below:

The Star