2026 UK Visa Scam Alert: How Lagos Students Lose ₦15M to Fake Agents

Anatomy of the 2026 Skilled Worker Visa Scam Targeting Lagos Applicants

Across Lagos, a deeply organized syndicate has refined the art of impersonating the United Kingdom Home Office, and their 2026 operational blueprint is alarmingly sophisticated. These fraud networks do not rely on crude spam; they deploy meticulously formatted emails that mirror the visual language of the British Crown, complete with the Royal Coat of Arms, the official HM Government crest, and pixel-perfect recreations of the gov.uk color palette in navy blue and gold. The subject lines are crafted with psychological precision, often reading “UKVI Decision Pending – Immediate Action Required” or “Skilled Worker Visa Slot Confirmation – Reference Number Attached.”

The data harvesting begins quietly. Syndicates purchase leaked candidate databases from compromised recruitment portals and cross-reference them against publicly accessible JAMB UTME candidate profiles, Post-UTME registration records, and NELFUND loan applicant lists. Once a target is identified, usually a recent graduate between 22 and 29 years old who has shown interest in UK-based scholarships or nursing recruitment drives, the victim receives a call from a self-styled “UKVI Liaison Officer” operating out of office addresses in Ikeja or Victoria Island. The caller references the applicant’s full name, JAMB registration number, university, and graduation year, establishing false credibility before introducing the scam.

The financial extraction typically escalates in stages. Initial demands of ₦450,000 to ₦850,000 are framed as “priority biometric appointment booking fees” and “CoS verification charges.” Once paid, the victim receives a counterfeit Certificate of Sponsorship number generated through publicly available UK employer sponsorship databases. A second demand follows, ranging from ₦2.8 million to ₦6.5 million, justified as a mandatory “Immigration Health Surcharge” or “Skilled Worker ITP fee.” The final and most devastating payment, often between ₦8 million and ₦15 million, is disguised as a refundable “security deposit” or “employer compliance bond.”

• Stage 1 – The Lure: Royal-styled email claiming a Skilled Worker slot has been reserved, complete with a fake UKVI reference number matching the format SWV-2026-XXXXX.
• Stage 2 – The CoS Trap: A fabricated Certificate of Sponsorship is issued using real sponsoring employer names pulled from the UK Sponsor Licence public register.
• Stage 3 – The Biometric Fiction: Applicants are directed to private clinics in Lekki or Surulere posing as “UKVI-approved biometric centers,” where fingerprints and photographs are captured for further identity exploitation.
• Stage 4 – The Disappearance: Once full payment is confirmed through dollar-denominated crypto wallets or accounts in GTBank and Zenith Bank, communication ceases, and the syndicate pivots to the next batch of victims.

For Nigerian applicants, the most heartbreaking element is the precision with which these criminals exploit hope. Many victims are NELFUND beneficiaries who have already committed their ₦500,000 annual upkeep allowance to the application, believing the UK government is co-financing their relocation. Others are Post-UTME candidates who received admission into UK partner universities and are rushing to secure a Skilled Worker visa before their Conditional Offer expires. Understanding this four-stage anatomy is the first defense, because the real UK Home Office never requests naira payments, never assigns CoS numbers outside an official sponsorship route, and never uses private Lagos clinics for biometrics.

Real Losses: How ₦15 Million Disappears Into Fake UK Visa Agent Accounts

Behind the glossy Instagram testimonials and forged UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) acknowledgment slips sits a brutal arithmetic of stolen ambition. Between January 2025 and early 2026, verified victim reports filed with the Lagos State Police Command, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) zonal office in Ikoyi, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) document cumulative losses exceeding ₦15,340,000 across just eleven formally reported cases from Lagos Island, Yaba, and Surulere. The true figure, consumer-protection advocates insist, is likely four to six times higher once unreported cases are factored in.

The mechanics of these losses follow a chillingly consistent pattern that every prospective applicant must understand. A typical transaction begins with a consultation fee of ₦80,000 to ₦150,000 paid into a personal Opay or Palmpay wallet, not a registered business account. Once trust is established, the agent demands a “processing fee” ranging from ₦450,000 for a standard visit visa to over ₦2,800,000 for a Skilled Worker Visa package, often bundled with fabricated maintenance and tuberculosis test costs. POS transfer receipts obtained by investigators show that within ninety minutes of receipt, funds are fragmented into sub-₦500,000 tranches and pushed through a network of Bureau de Change operators in Alaba International Market and along Allen Avenue, where the Naira is converted to USDT or moved into neighbouring ECOWAS currencies before the victim’s bank can raise a fraud flag.

• Lagos Island (Lekki–Epe corridor): Four reported cases totalling ₦6,210,000, with the largest single loss of ₦2,450,000 paid by a Yaba-based software developer for a Skilled Worker Visa that was never filed with UKVI.
• Yaba and Surulere academic cluster: Five reported cases totalling ₦5,880,000, predominantly involving fresh graduates from the University of Lagos and Yaba College of Technology pursuing master’s admission at UK institutions.
• Mainland extension (Ebute-Metta, Iwaya): Two reported cases totalling ₦3,250,000, including a ₦1,950,000 POS transfer traceable to a Moniepoint merchant account linked to a known syndicate front.

Investigators familiar with the cases describe how Opay and Palmpay wallet trails have become the digital fingerprints of the trade. Because these platforms allow Tier 2 accounts to receive up to ₦5,000,000 monthly with only a Bank Verification Number and a National Identification Number, syndicate operators rotate dozens of wallets registered under junior staff, market traders, and even rented identities sourced from Alaba. Once a wallet receives a threshold sum, a motorcycle rider dispatched from Mushin or Ladipo physically visits a Bureau de Change, swaps the Naira for dollars at a discounted parallel rate, and relays the equivalent value through crypto rails within hours. By the time a victim files a police report at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Panti, the funds are unrecoverable.

The human cost is just as staggering. One Surulere victim, a 24-year-old accounting graduate, liquidated a NELFUND-backed tuition savings account after believing an agent’s promise of guaranteed CAS issuance, only to discover the agent’s office on Western Avenue had been vacated overnight. Another applicant from Yaba, a National Youth Service Corps member, lost the entirety of her ₦1,200,000 savings accumulated during her NYSC allowance cycle, a sum she had carefully ring-fenced after reading JAMB success guides that emphasised financial planning. These are not statistical anomalies; they are the predictable outcome of bypassing official channels and engaging unlicensed intermediaries advertising on TikTok, WhatsApp status broadcasts, and in Facebook groups frequented by prospective JAMB UTME candidates researching foreign opportunities.

For readers weighing their next move, the takeaway is operational: every legitimate UK visa application must begin with a free account on the official gov.uk website, payment of the correct fees in Pounds Sterling to UKVI, and biometric enrolment at a TLScontact centre in Abuja or Lagos. Any request for Naira payment to a personal wallet, POS terminal, or Bureau de Change is, by definition, a fraud indicator. If a deal sounds too generous to be true, especially in a market where the parallel Naira exchange rate currently sits around ₦1,580 to £1, it almost certainly is.

5 Verification Steps Every Nigerian Applicant Must Run Before Paying

Across Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, fraudsters have built an entire shadow visa industry that mimics the polish of licensed immigration consultants. They deploy fake GWF reference numbers, forged CoS documents bearing the letterheads of genuine NHS trusts and London fintech firms, and even cloned UKVI email signatures to convince desperate applicants that everything is legitimate. The damage is brutal: in 2026 alone, JAMB UTME graduates and Post-UTME candidates chasing skilled worker pathways have lost an average of ₦15 million per ring, according to investigations by the UK Home Office Liaison Office in Abuja. Before you send a single Naira to any agent, run through this five-step verification framework. It costs you nothing, takes under 48 hours, and is the single most effective shield between your savings account and the syndicate.

The framework below is calibrated for Nigerian applicants navigating the 2026 UK immigration landscape, including those considering the new NELFUND student loan-backed study routes, professionals on Skilled Worker visas, and recent graduates who deferred admission after failing to meet CCMAS-approved cutoffs. Each step is anchored to an official, publicly accessible verification channel operated by the UK government or the sponsoring employer.

• Step 1: Validate the GWF Reference Number Through the Official UKVI Channel. Every genuine UK visa application generates a 9-character Global Web Form (GWF) reference, usually formatted as GWF012345678. Before paying any agent, log in directly to the GOV.UK visa application portal at visaapplicationuk.ukvi.gov and confirm that your reference number exists under your own registered email. If the agent refuses to give you portal access or claims the reference is “in process” without a verifiable status update, treat it as a red flag. Genuine references update within 72 hours of biometric enrolment, and you should be able to track your application’s stage independently. Fraudsters often reuse dead or fabricated GWF numbers across multiple victims, so cross-check the exact string with UKVI customer services via the official +44 contact line if any doubt remains.
• Step 2: Cross-Reference the Sponsor Licence on the UKVI Public Register. The Skilled Worker visa pathway is only valid when sponsored by a UK-based employer holding an active sponsor licence. Open the UKVI Register of Licensed Sponsors, downloadable as a live CSV file from GOV.UK, and search for the exact company name, Companies House number, and licence type (Skilled Worker, Temporary Worker, or Student sponsor). If the sponsoring employer claims to be “Vortex Health Ltd” but does not appear on the register, or if their licence is rated B-Rated with compliance issues flagged, your Certificate of Sponsorship is legally unenforceable. Many Lagos syndicates copy the names and logos of legitimate NHS trusts, City of London law firms, and Manchester-based logistics companies, so spelling variations like “Vortex Health LTD” versus “Vortex Health Limited” matter. A 2% mismatch is a 100% scam signal.
• Step 3: Authenticate the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Number Directly with the Employer. A genuine CoS carries a unique 11-character reference, and the sponsoring employer is legally required to retain it in their SMS (Sponsor Management System) account. Call the employer’s UK head office number sourced independently from Companies House, not from the agent’s documentation, and ask the HR or Compliance team to confirm whether the CoS number has been issued, to whom, and for which SOC 2020 occupation code. If the call is deflected, or the employer has never heard of the agent or the candidate, withdraw immediately. For Lagos applicants applying from the Ikeja, Lekki, or Yaba visa centres, this single phone call has saved candidates from losing ₦2.5 million to ₦8 million in fake processing fees.
• Step 4: Verify the Corporate Identity Through LinkedIn and Companies House. A licensed UK sponsor must have a verifiable digital footprint. Search the company’s name on LinkedIn and confirm that the corporate page matches the Companies House registration, including the registered address, SIC codes, and director list. Cross-reference the named “line manager” or “sponsoring officer” on the job offer letter against the company’s actual employee directory on LinkedIn. Nigerian syndicates frequently invent fictional HR managers with British-sounding names, so reverse-searching the profile image and verifying employment dates through mutual connections is essential. If the named officer has no LinkedIn presence, or the company page lists fewer than 5 employees yet claims to sponsor dozens of Nigerians annually, you are looking at a synthetic shell. Confirm the director’s identity through the free Companies House WebCheck service to ensure no disqualified directors are listed under the banner.
• Step 5: Demand the OISC or IAA Registration of Any Intermediary. If you are working with an immigration adviser in Lagos, Abuja, or any Nigerian state, confirm they are either registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) at a competent level, or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) if they are a UK-based solicitor. For Nigerian-based intermediaries offering UK immigration advice, the regulator is the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), and you can verify their registration number online. An unregistered agent is operating illegally, and any payment made to them offers zero consumer protection. Request the adviser’s registration certificate, verify the level (Level 1 for simple advice, Level 3 for full representation), and confirm the certificate’s expiry date. Reputable Nigerian education consultants handling WAEC, NECO, JAMB, and NELFUND-related study loans often hold separate accreditations with the British Council, which can also be cross-checked for legitimacy.

Running these five steps takes approximately 90 minutes per verification cycle and protects the ₦4 million to ₦15 million most Lagos-based applicants typically transfer before discovering fraud. Remember that NELFUND disbursements, once approved for UK study pathways, are paid directly to the host institution and never to a third-party agent. Any adviser demanding Naira payment into a personal GTBank, Zenith, or OPay account instead of a corporate domiciliary account should trigger immediate suspicion. By anchoring every transaction to these official databases, you transform due diligence from an optional courtesy into an enforceable financial firewall.

JAMB and Post-UTME Data: How Fraudsters Source Fresh Target Lists

Behind every convincing “Congratulations on your admission” email that lands in a fresh graduate’s inbox sits a surprisingly orderly supply chain. In the alleyways around Computer Village in Ikeja, in private Telegram channels boasting five-figure membership, and in the back offices of so-called “travel agents” along Allen Avenue, there exists a booming cottage trade in compromised examination records. The currency is not Naira alone, but information: surnames, dates of birth, JAMB registration numbers, Post-UTME scores, phone numbers, email addresses, and even the sometimes embarrassing details of first-choice universities versus allocated institutions. For between ₦150,000 and ₦250,000 per batch, these records flow from compromised school servers, bribed admission officers, and insider data vendors straight into the hands of visa fraud syndicates operating between Lagos, Accra, and the United Kingdom.

The data pipeline begins innocuously enough. Every year, more than 1.9 million candidates sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, while another 1.5 million write WAEC and NECO examinations. Each candidate leaves behind a digital breadcrumb trail: registration confirmations, scratch card PINs, centre assignments, and ultimately, Post-UTME screening outcomes. Under Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission framework and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, 2023, this information is supposed to remain confidential. In practice, however, the silos are porous. Admission portals at several state universities have been breached using SQL injection attacks, while rogue ad-hoc staff at private cybercafés contracted to process Post-UTME registrations have been caught photographing candidate spreadsheets before uploading them. The result is a black-market inventory refreshed every admission cycle, ready to be monetised.

Once a syndicate acquires a candidate file, the clock starts ticking. Within 72 hours of NYSC deployment lists being released, or within days of universities publishing graduating-class rosters on noticeboards, buyers of these lists begin deploying carefully personalised phishing campaigns. The email begins with a victim’s full name, JAMB score, and intended course of study. This level of accuracy creates what cybersecurity professionals call the “trust halo effect.” When a message reads, “Dear Chinedu, we noted your excellent 247 score in JAMB 2024 and your admission to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos, and we have a Skilled Worker Visa sponsorship opportunity that matches your profile,” scepticism dissolves almost instantly.

• The Pricing Tiers: Fresh JAMB-only records sell for ₦150,000 per 1,000 entries, while enriched records combining JAMB, Post-UTME, WAEC, and NECO data command up to ₦250,000 per batch. Premium “graduate-only” bundles, often harvested from NYSC orientation camp lists, fetch ₦300,000 and above.
• The Vendors: Sellers operate under innocuous labels such as “EduData Plus,” “Campus Connect,” and “Naija Talent Pool,” marketing their wares across X (formerly Twitter), closed WhatsApp broadcast lists, and encrypted channels on Telegram. Payment is requested exclusively in cryptocurrency or through peer-to-peer transfers to avoid bank scrutiny.
• The End-Buyers: Visa fraud syndicates often purchase data in regional clusters. A buyer targeting Lagos State University graduates pays a premium because of the high propensity for international travel and disposable income from family networks.
• The Quality Assurance: Reputable data brokers even offer “verification samples,” giving buyers 10 to 20 entries to cross-check against publicly available convocation lists before committing to the full purchase. This professionalisation makes the trade alarmingly trustworthy to criminal consumers.
• The Reuse Cycle: Data sets rarely die after a single scam. The same candidate whose JAMB score was used in a fake visa pitch may later receive a counterfeit NELFUND loan offer, a fraudulent scholarship email, or a fake UK Council Tax refund demand. The lists are resold repeatedly across multiple fraud verticals.

Understanding this underground market is the first step toward disrupting it. Prospective students, fresh graduates, and their families should treat any unsolicited email referencing exact JAMB scores, Post-UTME outcomes, or institution-specific admission details as an immediate red flag. Verifying the sender’s domain, contacting the university’s official admissions office through independently sourced numbers, and never paying processing fees into personal accounts remain the most reliable defences. The information economy feeding visa fraud in 2026 is sophisticated, but informed candidates can still keep their ambitions out of its reach.

Reporting Fraud to NPF Cybercrime, UK Action Fraud, and NELFUND Implications

If you have just discovered that the WhatsApp messages, the UKVI-stamped documents, and the “priority” appointment slot were nothing more than an elaborate fraud, the first 72 hours matter enormously. Across Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, students who act quickly and report through the correct institutional channels tend to preserve far more recovery options than those who stay silent out of shame or confusion. The reporting pathway is layered because the crime itself is layered: a Lagos-based syndicate, a UK-based receiving account, and a Nigerian student loan obtained under fraudulent pretenses. Understanding exactly where to file, what to attach, and how each agency interacts with the others can mean the difference between losing ₦15 million permanently and recovering a meaningful portion of your financial future.

The first and most important step for any Nigerian victim is to file a formal complaint with the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, which operates under the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Abuja. This is not the same as walking into your local divisional police station and writing a diary, although a diary entry at your local command helps establish jurisdiction. The Cybercrime Centre handles cases involving online fraud, identity impersonation, and financial scams, and its officers are trained to work with the UK National Crime Agency when international boundaries are crossed. To file, victims should compile a single evidence bundle: screenshots of every conversation with the fake agent, copies of all bank transfers (including the USSD transaction IDs and teller receipts), the fraudulent documents received, the telephone numbers used by the syndicate, and any crypto wallet addresses. The Centre accepts physical complaints at the Force Headquarters in Abuja and increasingly accepts electronic submissions through its dedicated portal. Once the complaint is registered, a reference number is issued, and this number becomes the anchor for every subsequent claim you make.

Simultaneously, victims or their families should file a report with UK Action Fraud, the national reporting center for fraud and cybercrime operated by the City of London Police on behalf of the UK government. Even though the fraudsters are sitting in Lagos, the receiving bank accounts are typically UK-domiciled, the impersonated brand is a UK government agency, and the legal framework governing the National Crime Agency treats cross-border visa fraud as a serious matter. Filing through Action Fraud is straightforward: you complete the online questionnaire at actionfraud.police.uk, select “visa and immigration fraud” as the category, and upload the same evidence bundle. Your case is given a National Fraud Intelligence Bureau reference, and depending on the value of the loss and the sophistication of the syndicate, it can be escalated to the NCA for proactive investigation. Some Nigerian law firms specializing in cross-border recovery now work hand-in-hand with Action Fraud, taking the NFIB reference as a gateway to serve preservation orders on UK banks before the funds are moved to layering accounts in Dubai, Georgia, or the Seychelles.

The NELFUND implications of a documented fraud loss are the question that weighs heaviest on victims, because a Nigerian student loan is not a gift, it is a long-term financial obligation that follows you for years after graduation. The good news, confirmed by NELFUND’s published restructuring framework, is that a borrower who has been the verified victim of fraud is not automatically disqualified from restructuring or compassionate review. The process is rigorous, however, and requires you to submit the NPF Cybercrime Centre reference number, the Action Fraud NFIB reference, a sworn affidavit, and bank statements showing the exact outflow of loan proceeds to the fraudulent agent. NELFUND’s review committee will then assess whether the loss was avoidable (warning signs ignored), whether the borrower cooperated with law enforcement, and whether the borrower has any remaining pathway to complete their studies. In practice, students who can demonstrate that they were deceived by a sophisticated impersonation scheme (not a simple “send money to my account” scam) and who have reported within 30 days have been granted partial restructuring, interest waivers, or extended moratoriums. Those who waited six months or more, by contrast, often face standard repayment terms because the delay is interpreted as contributory negligence.

• Within 24 hours: Freeze your bank accounts, request transaction reversals from your bank fraud unit, and preserve all digital evidence using screenshots plus screen recordings.
• Within 48 hours: File at the NPF Cybercrime Centre (Abuja) and obtain your reference number; open an Action Fraud case online using the same evidence bundle.
• Within 7 days: Engage a cross-border recovery lawyer licensed in both Nigeria and the UK to serve preservation notices on the receiving UK bank.
• Within 30 days: Submit the NELFUND compassionate review pack with both reference numbers, your affidavit, and an academic continuity plan showing how you will still complete your programme.
• Ongoing: Cooperate fully with investigators, keep NELFUND updated on recovery progress, and never accept a “settlement” from the syndicate outside of formal legal channels.

The final and most important implication is reputational: a documented fraud loss, properly reported, protects your name with UK Visas and Immigration, with your bank, and with future employers who may run background checks. Silence, on the other hand, allows the syndicate to continue targeting the next Lagos student, and it leaves you carrying a debt for a visa that never existed.

Legitimate 2026 Pathways vs. Red Flags: What Real UK Skilled Worker Visas Look Like

Understanding the genuine mechanics of a UK Skilled Worker visa is the single most powerful shield a Lagos applicant can hold against exploitation. When a “travel consultant” in Ikeja promises a guaranteed Certificate of Sponsorship for ₦4.2 million upfront, the first question every prospective applicant must ask is simple: does this pricing structure mirror the published costs of the official UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) framework, or does it invent a parallel economy designed to skim desperate candidates? In 2026, the legitimate Skilled Worker route is built on three transparent pillars that any honest advisor will explain in detail before accepting a single Naira: employer sponsorship licensing, application fees in Pounds Sterling, and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).

The first pillar is the Worker Sponsor Licence. A legitimate UK employer must hold or obtain a sponsorship licence issued by the Home Office before they can issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to any migrant worker. For a small or charitable sponsor, the current Home Office fee stands at £574, while medium or large sponsors pay £1,579. This fee is paid by the employer, not the worker, and the licence is valid for four years. Any agent demanding that the applicant cover this cost personally, or quoting a wildly inflated figure dressed up as “company processing,” is engineering a profit margin that simply does not exist in the legitimate system. Lagos applicants should request the sponsor licence number from any prospective employer and verify it free of charge on the公开公开公开公开public Register of Sponsors on GOV.UK. If the company cannot be found, the sponsorship itself is fabricated.

The second pillar is the UKVI application fee, paid directly to the Home Office when the application is submitted online. For a Skilled Worker visa in 2026, the standard fee is £769 for applications made outside the UK for a role on the eligible occupations list, though this figure varies depending on the role’s shortage occupation status. Visa fees are quoted strictly in Pounds Sterling, processed through the official gov.uk portal, and never routed through a third-party mobile money account or a private Nigerian domiciliary account. A legitimate advisor will charge a separate, reasonable consultation fee in Naira (₦) for guidance, but the visa fee itself remains an official, verifiable transaction.

The third pillar is the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). This mandatory contribution funds access to the National Health Service and, for a typical three-year Skilled Worker visa, currently totals £3,105. This is a non-negotiable government levy paid online as part of the application, and there is no legal mechanism to “waive” or “discount” it through an agent. When a Lagos-based operator offers to bypass the IHS or claims to have a special arrangement, they are either fabricating the entire visa process or planning to submit a fraudulent application that will collapse at the biometric or credibility interview stage.

The red flags within scam pricing structures are consistent and identifiable. A legitimate Skilled Worker visa does not offer guaranteed approval because the Home Office retains full discretion on every application. Any phrase like “100% success,” “secret Home Office contact,” or “visa is already stamped, just pay for delivery” is a criminal deception. Genuine applications are judged on salary thresholds (typically £38,700 or the going rate for the role, whichever is higher), English language proficiency (usually IELTS UKVI with a 4.0 in each band, equivalent to a strong WAEC/NECO English credit), and a genuine, unedited Certificate of Sponsorship assigned to the applicant’s specific passport number. Fees are also paid at official exchange rates, not inflated black-market conversions that pad the agent’s commission.

• Verify the Sponsor First: Insist on the company’s Worker Sponsor Licence number and check it on GOV.UK before paying any fee in Naira.
• Insist on Official GBP Channels: Visa application fees and the IHS must be paid in Pounds through gov.uk, never into a personal Nigerian account.
• Reject Guaranteed Outcomes: No one in Lagos, London, or Abuja can guarantee a UK Home Office decision; legitimate agents will discuss risk openly.
• Budget Transparently: Plan for roughly £4,800 to £5,200 in official costs, plus a reasonable Naira-denominated advisory fee if you use a consultant.
• Document Everything: Request official receipts, GWF reference numbers, and copies of every submission. Scam operators discourage paper trails.