ITIC Circular: Crew Scam Warning

ITIC has a long history of issuing warnings on the subject of ship agents being used by unscrupulous migrant smugglers to move illegal immigrants around the world. The basic pattern is for owners/managers to approach the agent asking for the agent to attend the vessel's call including giving assistance with a crew change. The call is bogus but the agent has provided cover for the migrants’ arrival in the country. The migrants will disappear and the agent will be left with unpaid hotel bills and can face fines from immigration authorities as well as being liable for detention and repatriation costs if the migrants are caught.

Recently we have seen a re-emergence of these immigration crew scams. Therefore, ITIC reminds all agents to be particularly vigilant when being approached by owners or crew managers who are unknown to them requesting a crew change.