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Immigration Daily News VEVO's vulnerable system: Open to ID theft and creation of new visa statusAustralian Immigration Daily News
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VEVO's vulnerable system: Open to ID theft and creation of new visa status
There are serious flaws in VEVO allowing people to create false read-outs as to their status in Australia.
When a search is made for the immigration status of a migrant, VEVO doesn't validate the name put into the system against the passport number and visa grant number and date of birth.
For example, this morning, one of my staff was checking VEVO for a client of ours who today has became unlawful. My staff member mistakenly put our client's partner's name into the VEVO check instead of the client's name. She also mistakenly put the client's partner's passport number (a 457 visa holder) instead of the client's passport number. She then put the date of birth of the partner as well.
This is what the VEVO online system asks for:
Family Name: UNLAWFUL PERSON'S NAME PUT HERE
Given name: UNLAWFUL PERSON'S NAME PUT HERE
Date of Birth: LAWFUL PERSON'S DOB PLACED HERE
Pasport number: LAWFUL PERSON'S PASSPORT NUMBER PLACED HERE
Country you are from: THEY CAME FROM SAME COUNTRY SO THAT WAS PLACED THERE
The VEVO check does not ask for the Visa grant number.
The result was that the unlawful client has the VEVO identity of a person holding lawful visa status in Australia.
Leading onto the implications. If a person applies for a job in Australia, employers will request visa details to check your status for work. VEVO can then be misused by any individual to apply for jobs, homeloans, loans. It can then be viewed as a pdf or printed off as evidence of status in Australia.
VEVO essentially can be misused as a system for identity theft. The VEVO system is so vulnerable to this abuse I tested it out on myself. I am an Australian Citizen by birth. In my situation, it works in reverse. I can create a profile for myself on VEVO as being on a 457 and/or a 801 by inserting the following:
Family Name: ALLAN
Given name: LIANA
Date of Birth: MY STAFF MEMBER'S DOB INSERTED HERE
Pasport number: MY STAFF MEMBER'S PASSPORT NUMBER INSERTED HERE
Country you are from: INDONESIA INSERTED HERE
Liana Allan (me) shows up as a temporary resident on a 457 visa. On a second trial using the same process I show up as a 801 visa holder.
The print out and scanned copies of the VEVO results are here: VEVO-gone-mad.pdf
Furthermore there is a client of ours who was granted a visa with the wrong date of birth showing (DIBP mistake). So now the client, let's call her 'Anna', wants to apply for permanent residency under subclass 186. Anna could not apply online because her date of birth was not matching her passport. DIBP fixed VEVO after a long wait, but not their other internal online system. This means that the VEVO system does not talk to the online system at DIBP otherwise it would have been automatically updated across the board. DIBP received the second complaint from our office, and after some time, finally fixed the date of birth on the online system as well. We lodged the visa application but when we received the acknowledgement letter for the client, the wrong date of birth was still showing on the acknowledgement letter. Logic would have it that the acknowledgement letter system is not talking to VEVO or the internal online system either. This means that when clients are doing medicals and other tests it causes delays.
The conclusion I have reached is that the DIBP systems are not reliable. Parts within the DIBP system are clearly not compatible with or talking to each other.
Going back to VEVO, my guess is that there vulnerable Australian employers out there unwittingly employing unlawful non-citizens, rightfully assuming that the paperwork provided by the employee is in fact their real visa status. If one of my staff entered data into VEVO by mistake and obtained a fake 'positive status' for an unlawful client, then I am sure unlawful non-citizens out there are just inserting their name into VEVO with their friend's visa status, printing it off, or creating a PDF of their 'fake lawfulness' and giving it to employers and other identities.
Try it for yourself. Mix and match your client's details with you own. You can get a real cocktail of results to suit any occasion depending on your 'need'. I'm not even an Aussie any more based on VEVO's readings.
Comments
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Friday, 23 May 2014
I think the DIBP should take VEVO offline until they fix it.
· Liana - Allan likes this comment. -
Friday, 23 May 2014I would also like to know where this leaves employers. If an employer has a dodgy print out supplied by the worker, does that negate sanctions? They have complied with Duty of Care in principal but the consequences are severe.
If Vevo is offline Liana, how do we go about our daily business with Vevo being of such vital importance to RMA's on a daily basis.
I agree with you that it needs to be urgently corrected. I am now a 573 visa holder and my assistant is a 187 visa holder.
This is a very stressful situation.· Liana - Allan likes this comment. -
Friday, 23 May 2014
Employers cannot rely on VEVO. We cannot rely on VEVO. I wonder if DIBP have sanctioned employers on the basis of employing UNCs who mocked up fake status' on VEVO? I wonder if any of the building site and restaurant raids by DIBP compliance pick up lots of UNCs who created a false of immigration status to secure employment. It's just plain ridiculous that in 2014 we have this lack of sophistication in Australia's immigration verification process.
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Friday, 23 May 2014
The problems and inconsistencies with Immigration’s online systems are too many to count.
- The issue you have highlighted with VEVO has been there for a number of years.
- Many visa acknowledgment letters have the client’s old overseas address rather than the address noted on the visa lodgement (a constant cause of complaints).
- Invoice for nomination applications list the credit card holders name as the applicant.
- Visa acknowledgment letters often omit the bridging visas for some secondary applicants.
- When attaching documents the drop down lists are huge and nonsensical (why do I need a war crimes declaration for a sponsorship application?).
Unfortunately this has become the norm. -
Monday, 26 May 2014
VEVO is now offline and unavailable for checks.
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Sunday, 10 January 2016
I have a visa from VEVO plis help me and check if this is real or fake. I am from Africa, Cameroon. My Names are chi Rene Tayim Ndibang
Immigration blog
I have had serious issues with Vevo as well. A client of mine holding a 119 visa of which the family was included had one son who couldn't arrive by his deadline date. Upon checking Vevo months after this deadline date, the system stated he was still a valid holder of a 119 visa.
If my client had sought this information through anyone else but myself, they would advise (rightly so) that the son could fly out to Australia as he still has a visa.
Unfortunately, he would have been stopped at Immigration as not having a valid visa. This could have proven an inconvenient and costly mistake for the client.
Upon emailing Immigration for status clarification on other status verifications and stating that I don't trust Vevo, DIBP officers advise they would be relying on the system as well. Not sure how that works.
As there are no visa labels, this system is imperative for Agents and absolutely must be reliable.