France, Dec. 26 -- Canada's decision in 2023 to open its borders to citizens from French-speaking Africa has led to a surge in well-organised scams targeting immigrant hopefuls.

Amadou Fall fell prey to one such scheme. He says he travelled to Ghana after being contacted by a childhood friend, who is also Senegalese.

The friend promised to help him obtain a visa to travel to Canada, which involved him paying 2.5 million CFA francs (€3,811) to cover administrative costs. He managed to raise part of that sum -1.6 million CFA francs (€2,439)-by selling his belongings.

On arriving in Ghana, he claims he was taken to a house where he met other young men from various African countries. His phone and identity papers were taken fro...