Coyotes lure immigrants with lies on Facebook and WhatsApp

• So-called ‘coyotes’ target immigrants with misinformation and lies.
• They use Facebook and WhatsApp to deceive them.
• Migrants are hooked with lies about immigration laws and the chances of entering the US safely.

ALERT FOR IMMIGRANTS. So-called

‘coyotes’ target immigrants with misinformation and lies on Facebook and WhatsApp. Then they end up charging them thousands of dollars to bring them to the United States while, in reality, they are risking their lives.

In a recently published report, Tech Transparency Project (TTP) revealed that undocumented immigrants are victims of the coyotes who they usually contact through social networks. Coyotes give them false information assuring them that the US border is open.

Coyotes lure immigrants with lies on Facebook and WhatsApp

Organized crime has found a way to take advantage of millions of people in Latin America who dream of seeking a better future in the United States. This is how the coyotes, also known as polleros, have now perfected their strategies using social media.

Many immigrants, in their eagerness to reach US soil, end up contacting these smugglers through Facebook or WhatsApp and are lured with lies about immigration laws and the possibility of entering the United States without problems. In the end, it’s all part of a strategy to charge them thousands of dollars for a potentially deadly journey.

Lies and misinformation

“It’s hard, because you can’t tell which source of information is trustworthy,” commented one Tech Transparency Project respondent, highlighting the vast amount of false and unverified information circulating on these two Meta-owned social networks.

Lies and disinformation reach immigrants without their having a way of knowing what is really trustworthy. “TTP also found a large number of posts spreading misinformation about immigration law, conditions along the route to the United States, and the opportunities available to migrants,” the report says.

Coyotes steal their money and leave them to their luck

On social networks you can read messages like “¡Cruce a Estados Unidos. Solo se caminan 40 minutos a 1 hora!” “Visa mexicana y permiso temporal” que son publicados, por ejemplo, en las páginas “Migrantes en listado sin MPP.” “Caravana Centroamericana 25 de febrero” “Migrantes Nizas hacia EEUU,” among many others.

The lies on these sites dupe migrants who end up paying thousands of dollars and going through terrible experiences. “Migrants told TTP that Facebook and WhatsApp connected them with people who promised to help them enter the US, only to steal their money or abandon them in dangerous situations,” adds the report.

PAY ATTENTION AND DON’T FALL INTO THE TRAP!

“Many migrants fleeing violence or desperate for a better life felt they had no choice,” says the TTP. During their dangerous journey to the United States immigrants are often victims of fraud, unsafe conditions, violent crimes, sexual exploitation and, in the worst cases, they are abandoned to their luck in the desert or in drug trafficking territory, according to La Opinión.

An interviewee said that he found «through a Facebook page» a person who would help him «cross the border and enter the United States.» This new mechanism makes it clear that social platforms are not limiting misinformation, which leaves the most vulnerable people exposed. PAY ATTENTION AND DON’T FALL INTO THE TRAP!