Looking for a US visa? Don't fall prey to con artists who claim to provide guaranteed visas. A font-page report in this paper highlighted yesterday how a South Mumbai woman conned several people, pretending to run a visa-processing centre on her smart phone.

Once the victims deposited money, the game of lies and deception began. There were fraudulent claims about an appointment at the US Consulate, which never materialised, passports were taken away and the visa 'fee' disappeared. The message here, which has been learnt the hard way, is to always go through proper channels for the US passport. Look at the Consulate website, read all their rules clearly. Do not make assumptions about your visa being rejected in case you go through the proper channels. Do not assume that the doors will remain closed to you.