A viral Reddit post on October 28 detailed how a student paid USD $107 for a Canadian Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) through a third-party website that mimicked the official government portal, sparking renewed warnings from IRCC about online fraud. The legitimate eTA fee is just CAD $7.
Fraudulent eTA and visa agents have proliferated since Canada expanded visa-exemption lists in 2023. Scammers buy Google Ads that appear above the official site, then charge “processing fees” exceeding 1,400 percent of the real cost. Victims often have little recourse because many sites are registered offshore and disclaim liability in fine print.
IRCC’s help-centre guidance confirms there is “only one official website” to apply for an eTA and urges travellers to verify URLs ending in “.gc.ca”. The agency is working with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and search-engine providers to demote deceptive ads, but enforcement is complicated by jurisdictional issues.
For global-mobility teams, the episode is a reminder to provide inbound assignees with clear, step-by-step instructions and links to official government pages. Employers should also caution travel-management companies to disable sponsored-link results in their booking-platform browser windows.
Best practice: include a pre-departure checklist that highlights official fee amounts for eTAs, study permits and work permits, reducing the likelihood that employees or dependants fall prey to overcharging or identity-theft scams.
Fraudulent eTA and visa agents have proliferated since Canada expanded visa-exemption lists in 2023. Scammers buy Google Ads that appear above the official site, then charge “processing fees” exceeding 1,400 percent of the real cost. Victims often have little recourse because many sites are registered offshore and disclaim liability in fine print.
IRCC’s help-centre guidance confirms there is “only one official website” to apply for an eTA and urges travellers to verify URLs ending in “.gc.ca”. The agency is working with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and search-engine providers to demote deceptive ads, but enforcement is complicated by jurisdictional issues.
For global-mobility teams, the episode is a reminder to provide inbound assignees with clear, step-by-step instructions and links to official government pages. Employers should also caution travel-management companies to disable sponsored-link results in their booking-platform browser windows.
Best practice: include a pre-departure checklist that highlights official fee amounts for eTAs, study permits and work permits, reducing the likelihood that employees or dependants fall prey to overcharging or identity-theft scams.
