If something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is!

Representational image. Pic/iStock

An international scam targeting medical students has recently hit India, said a report in this paper. Scammers have lured many students with promises of guaranteed seats in Spanish medical institutes, without requiring valid documents or entrance exams. They have a deceptively professional approach and many students are realising they've been cheated only after reaching the foreign land. A police officer cited in our report that many students are still stranded in Spain.

The scammers allegedly run an illegal agency which operates on Instagram without a registered office. While Spain is still new ground for Indians, one recalls that accredited and genuine Russian medical colleges who had admission agents here had also warned Indians about fake websites offering medical admissions in Russia. A doctor actually lost Rs 15 lakh he said in his police complaint after he was promised admission to a radiology course.

It is time, people started double-checking before parting with even a rupee. Talk to other medical students in foreign universities. Research the websites and Instagram pages. If there is another similar sounding website, you need to look very carefully at both. Ask the ‘scammer' on the telephone line of numbers to the institution he has promised admission to. Call back his number and see if he picks up. Sham numbers are red flags. Google search the universities he claims to give you admission to. Send emails, call such numbers and speak.

When ‘agents' keep pressing you to send money at once, you must start checking. These scamsters smell desperation like bloodhounds pick up a scent. Deal with these things with great caution and due diligence.