Domestic worker allegedly scammed with Canada job offer introduced by S'pore-based college administrator

When Sandy (not her real name) completed her Diploma in Nursing Aide, the 34-year-old domestic worker thought she could finally find better job prospects.

So when she was recommended a job opportunity in Canada by a school administrative staff member, she jumped to apply for it.

It was a caregiving job at a retirement home, earning almost C$46,080 (S$42,768) a year, a vast difference from the S$9,600 a year she earns in Singapore.

What she didn't expect was to be have her life savings wiped out under the guise of application and administrative fees.

Sandy tells Mothership that, aside from her, five other domestic workers who graduated from the college were similarly scammed.

She said she was first recommended for the job by a school administrative staff member, "G", who connected them with an "agent".

Thought it was a good opportunity

Sandy said she first met G when she started her course of study at BMC International College in January 2024.

While they were not close, she had seen G around during school events and for administrative purposes.

According to her LinkedIn, G has been working at the school since 2003 as a "programme manager".

So when G presented the job opportunity to Sandy, she didn't think there was anything suspicious.

C$24 per hour with accommodation and food provided, as well as 30 days of paid vacation, sounded too good to pass up.

G even promised her that she could bring her parents over to Canada eventually as well.

Unfortunately for Sandy, it was too good to be true.

Asked for more and more money

It started with S$1,500 on Jan. 21, 2025.

G told her that it was part of the processing fees for the job application.

Sandy was told to transfer another S$1,500 ten days later, on Jan. 31.

That same day, she was given an offer letter from Hello Retirement Home located in Quebec, Canada — a predominantly French-speaking province.

Sandy was told she was required to pay a total of S$6,500 for the entire process, which includes application fees for her work visa and a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

LMIA is a document from the Canadian government that gives the employer permission to hire a temporary foreign worker and is typically paid for by the employer themselves.

By the end of June 2025, Sandy has paid the full S$6,500 in instalments to G herself via bank transfer.

Scanned biometrics for work permit application

Following her last payment, Sandy waited for updates on her application, but she was told everything was still "in progress".

At this point, G has passed matters off to an agent "T", who was now the person liaising with Sandy.

He told her in September 2025 that she was required to pay another C$800 (S$742) for her work visa application to Canada.

Having depleted most of her savings, Sandy was starting to feel the pressure.

When she refused to pay, T allegedly told her that her process for the job would come to an end.

She eventually paid T and was told to head down to VFS Visa Application Centre at Cecil Street on Sep. 29.

There, she provided her biometric information to accompany her visa application.

As she eventually received an email from the centre that her application was being processed, Sandy finally thought things were moving along.

Asked for more money

Three more months and countless reassurances later, Sandy received an email from "Owlsome Immigration" that her LMIA had expired and she needed to pay around S$1000 more to extend it.

When she asked T about this, he told her that her application was now being handled by the Canadian team. She was asked to contact them directly instead.

By this time, Sandy had grown increasingly weary and was now convinced the whole thing had been a scam.

Terrified and angry, she went with four other domestic workers to make a police report on Dec. 21, 2025.

Sandy also got in touch with an acquaintance in Canada, who helped to look through her paperwork and told her that it was likely a scam.

The name of the Canadian immigration lawyer did not show up in the public register under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC).

He was also not licensed with a provincial law society, according to this acquaintance.

Emails sent by Mothership to the immigration agency bounced back as well.

The acquaintance has since filed a scam report in Canada as well.

Sandy even went to the Small Claims Tribunal on Jan. 12, 2026, to see if she could recover her money through other legal channels.

However, she was told her case was not eligible to file a small claim.

Called her in tears

Following her initial police report, Sandy began receiving messages from G asking her if she had lodged a police report.

She was pleading with Sandy for "more time" to repay her with her own money.

In one voice message, G told Sandy that she can "arrange" to pay her back out of her "own pocket" and pleaded with Sandy to call her back, adding that she was too distressed to sleep.

Sandy said G also kept calling her to say she would take accountability, but Sandy said she was too wary at that point to believe her.

She then made an additional police report on Jan. 20, 2026.

Red flags

Sandy said the red flags only became clear to her after speaking with other friends and the acquaintance from Canada.

Checks by Mothership found that the retirement home's website was inaccessible.

A search on Résidences Québec, a public directory for certified private seniors' residences (RPAs) in Quebec, for Hello Retirement Home also did not show any results.

Meanwhile, the address stated on the employment contract showed that Hello Retirement Home is located in a residential area in Saint-Tharcisius, Quebec.

Checks by Mothership on Quebec’s enterprise register returned a listing for “Hello Retirement Homes” — with an “s”.

However, the address in the business registration was different — in Blainville, Quebec, a whole seven-hour drive away.

Furthermore, the economic activity listed for the business was "computer services".

Another red flag was that G informed Sandy that she did not have to do a formal interview with the employer, as her "CV was good enough".

Police investigations ongoing

In response to queries by Mothership, the Singapore Police Force confirmed that reports were lodged and investigations are ongoing.

When Mothership reached out to G, she appeared to be aware of the allegations around her and said that she would like to clear her name.

However, she declined to comment further, explaining that she is currently cooperating with the police.

Mothership has tried to reach out to the college through emails and phone calls, but has received no reply.

A year of distress

Sandy said the experience left her distressed and stripped her of her life savings.

"I don’t think I will ever be able to forget this for the rest of my life," she said.

Throughout the year-long process of waiting for the job to be approved, she experienced a rollercoaster of emotions — hope turned into trepidation, which turned into depression.

When she finally realised that it had all been a scam, Sandy said she could barely function, having to take sick days yet not being able to fall asleep.

During this period, her mother also unfortunately passed away back in her home country.

However, she was unable to fly back for the funeral as she could no longer afford a flight ticket.

"They told me if I stopped paying, I would lose all the money I had already paid. Even though it was very hard, I kept trying to pay. They told me can bring parents after going to Canada, so I kept going with that hope. But now, everything has changed."

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