Migration in any form is surging, and various people, notably the youth, are claimed to be the highest segment of society fleeing the country, as studies assert. Similarly, various advertisements of tour and travel agents claim to be legal agents who send migrants in various forms, such as scholarships and work visas. Though the legitimacy of these agents is still unconfirmed, their advertisements via various platforms are immense. Similarly, a significant number of reports have been recorded regarding people being deceived and losing their money to scam agents.
A TikTok video circulating that falsely claims the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Taye Atske-Selassie, issued an official letter of representation for an individual named Temesgen Agernew. It was accompanied by the caption, “It is known that Canada has made a statement that it needs a lot of manpower in its recent statement. Therefore, we have started registering 10,000 Ethiopians online through various representative organizations in our country, Ethiopia. Therefore, Ethiopians who want to register can register by fulfilling the requirements; Residence/Kebele/ID, Gender; male/female/, Age from 18-50 years, 3×4 size photo. The Government of Canada wants to cover the cost of enrollees who meet these requirements. For more information, call our phone line. You can register by calling. Congratulations again”
The video allegedly claimed that this letter allows Temesgen Agernew to collect passport, visa, and registration fees from Ethiopian citizens interested in job or educational opportunities in Canada.
One of the investigative tools known as true caller can be useful in investigations, particularly in recognizing and dealing with communication with unknown or suspicious contacts. It also turns out that the contact number in the TikTok account description reads Canada Visa”.
However, through investigation, HaqCheck has confirmed that this letter is completely fabricated and the claims in the video are false.
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs passes its press releases as well as announcements to the public through its own social media platforms and legitimate mainstream media, not for some random TikTok account.
The letters released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have their theme and it is not like the letter distributed by the TikTok video.
The letter stated a private limited company named “ብሩህ ተስፋ የቪዛና የጉዞ አማካሪ ሀላፊነቱ የተወሰነ የግል ማህበር” which HaqCheck couldn’t get any official information about, No website, No social media accounts, nothing at all. There is only a Facebook page named “Biruh Tesfa Consultancy – ብሩህ ተስፋ የውጭ ፕሮሰስ ኤጀንሲ” which is mostly full of memes and jokes with a single advertisement that says “Congratulations you can move to Canada very cheaply. Call for full details. In its recent announcement of vacancies, Canada stated that it needs a lot of manpower. Therefore, we have started registering 45,000 Ethiopians and Eritreans online through organizations represented in our country, Ethiopia. Passport and passport photo required.”
Also, there cannot be any official information on the identity of the individual named Temesgen Agernew who is also the owner of the bank account put in the letter.
Furthermore, since there is no legal connection between the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the individual, the ministry could not give a representation letter for him, it is against the law.
Basically, rather than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issues regarding foreign employment opportunities for Ethiopian citizens are implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Skills.
Taye Atske-Selassie did not issue any such letter, and Temesgen Agernew does not have any official standing to be collecting fees or processing documents on behalf of the Ethiopian government, The signature they used as of Mr. Taye Atske-Sellassise’ is not the signature of the minister.
Since it provides Temesgen Agernew’s personal commercial bank account number and encourages viewers to deposit fees to secure passports, visas, and employment/education placements in Canada. This fraudulent scheme with no legitimate connection to the Ethiopian government, might have intended to defraud innocent citizens.
The TikTok account not only posted this video there is also another video with similar content and another video claiming a list of names of people who are approved as well as rejected by Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada’s large food producer companies. Here in this letter, unlike the previous one, was signed by a person named Mesfin Teshome Aklilu and titled “A company owner and General Director” also there is a stamp representing “Biruhtesfa General Trading PLC”. On the other hand, it used Minister Taye Atske-Sellasie’s titer stamp of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia. Even if the photo was shared as it was received from Maple Leaf Foods it doesn’t include the company’s stamp or a signature of the responsible personnel of the company.
HaqCheck contacted the Canadian Embassy in Ethiopia, and received a response regarding such scams online. “Anyone can check if a person is licensed to represent immigrants or to give advice using the link: Find out if your representative is authorized – Canada.ca.” The embassy also verified to HaqCheck via email that the Canadian government has issued no job announcements for Ethiopians.
If anyone needs to immigrate to Canada, they need to use the official website: Immigrate to Canada – Canada.ca. The Embassy of Canada to Ethiopia does not provide assistance or guidance with filling out immigration-related applications.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the email we sent, but they haven’t replied yet.
They deceive individuals with forged stamps, signatures, and letters of representation, demanding upfront payments for services they cannot deliver. This is a deceptive tactic designed to exploit unsuspecting people hoping to travel to Canada.
Even if efforts by Haq Check to contact the owners of the ad to investigate further were unsuccessful, all other documents show the letters and information distributed by the TikTok account are False.