By Meenakshi Iyer New Delhi, June 18 : The case of hundreds of Indian students in Canada facing deportation has once again brought into the spotlight the role of shady visa agents and operators issuing fake visa papers in exchange for huge sums of money. As of now, 240 countries have admitted Indian students for higher studies with Canada, Australia, the UK, and the US being the top study-abroad choices, according to Ministry of External Affairs data. With Indian students making a beeline to study abroad and the need for visas touching an all-time high, many of them are falling into the trap of unscrupulous agents to realise their foreign dreams. "During student season, which typically starts from mid-May and goes on till September, the rush for visas is high. Thus, it is important for students to be wary of miscreants looking to take advantage of this peak demand period," a spokesperson for VFS Global, a visa outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions, told IANS. Indians going abroad for higher education touched a six-year high in 2022 at over 7.5 lakh, Parliament was informed earlier this year. According to a RedSeer report, it's estimated that 1.8 million Indians -- attracted by global professional opportunities and world-class universities -- will be spending US $85 billion on education overseas by 2024. "Given the unprecedented pent-up demand for outbound travel from India, it is advisable to apply for visas as early as possible to avoid falling prey to such grey operators," the spokesperson told IANS. "Visa applicants are advised to exercise caution when being approached by third-party entities who pose as visa service providers, promising an appointment or favourable visa decision by misusing our company's name or otherwise." In addition, the spokesperson said that the onus is also on students to conduct proper checks and vet the details of the educational institutions that they intend to study at rather than solely depending on the agents. The company, which has processed over 256 million applications since its inception in 2001, said it is making continual efforts to increase awareness among the general public about visa scams and frauds. The spokesperson told IANS that the company has been consistently "leveraging all our customer touchpoints to caution visa applicants about this menace". Recently, security personnel at VFS Global, which operates a global network with more than 3,400 application centres in 145 countries, caught a group of seven applicants carrying forged documents to apply for Italian visas in New Delhi. The documents were allegedly provided to the applicants by two Delhi-based agents in exchange for Rs 30,000 to Rs 55,000. It was found during the investigations that the forged papers were created by the fraudsters by faking the logo of VFS Global. "We would continue to be vigilant against third-party fraudulent entities taking advantage of travellers and work closely with the police authorities in mitigating the menace," the spokesperson said. (Meenakshi Iyer can be reached at meenakshi.i@ians.in) /IANS