Cruise ship job scam in Nigeria: two fake offers the Australian High Commission names

Tips · 2026-11-02 · 10 min read

A young Nigerian man checks his phone with a sceptical expression beside an open laptop in a Lagos cafe.

If someone has messaged you about a cruise ship job with an Australian company, or about an "Australia Awards" scholarship that needs an agent, treat the cruise ship job scam in Nigeria as the likely explanation until an official government page proves otherwise. The Australian High Commission in Nigeria names both: it warns West Africans about false offers of employment and visas to Australia, fake Australia Awards scholarship agents and fraudulent offers of employment with Australian cruise ship companies.

This guide shows what these offers look like, the checks that expose them in a few minutes, and what to do if you have already replied.

What the High Commission actually says

The Australian High Commission publishes a scams page for people in West Africa. It does not hide behind vague language. Three of its points matter most for a job seeker in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt or anywhere else in Nigeria.

No diplomat will offer you a job or a visa. The High Commission warns: "No Australian Diplomat or Australian Border Force Special Agent will contact you offering jobs or visas."
Official email addresses are few. Legitimate Australian Government border-related emails end with @dfat.gov.au or @border.gov.au. Anything ending in .net, .com or anything else is a scam.
Three scam types are named. False offers of employment and visas, fake Australia Awards scholarship agents, and fraudulent offers of employment with Australian cruise ship companies.

You can read the full warning on the High Commission's scams page. Our earlier guide to testing a fake Australian job offer email covers the email test in more detail; this post looks at the two scams that wear a cruise-line or scholarship costume.

Scam one: the cruise ship job offer

A cruise ship job sounds believable because ships really do employ people from many countries. That is exactly why scammers use it. The pattern is usually the same: a message arrives on WhatsApp, Telegram or email, a "recruiter" says you have been selected, and then a series of payments begins.

Scamwatch lists the signs of job scams, and they fit this story closely: unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram, a quick hiring process with no interview, and a request to pay a "recruitment fee" or for training materials before you start. If you recognise two of those three, stop.

Payments are the tell

Scam offers differ in detail, but the money request nearly always shows up before any real work. The EFCC puts it plainly: no credible employer demands pre-employment payments for whatever reason from prospective employees, and you should disregard any offer once a request for money is made. A fee for a "foreign worker certificate", a "medical clearance", "uniform", "training" or "visa processing" is still a pre-employment payment, whatever it is called.

The visa story does not hold together

Home Affairs is just as direct about the paperwork. Australia does not issue "work permits", visa labels or Labour Market Impact Assessments, so anyone offering one is running a scam. And anyone promising you a visa, permanent residency or citizenship is misleading you, because nobody can promise those.

The EFCC describes how visa scammers operate: they claim connections at embassies, demand repeated fees and may issue fake visas that lead to arrest at exit or entry ports. A "visa" that arrives as a PDF from a stranger, with a fee attached, fits that description.

Scam two: the fake Australia Awards scholarship agent

The second scam targets students and early-career workers who hope a scholarship will open a path to Australia. The High Commission names fake Australia Awards scholarship agents as a scam type, so a person who contacts you as an "agent" for this kind of scholarship deserves the same cold treatment as a cruise ship recruiter.

We do not have an official fact sheet on how the scholarship programme itself works, so we will not describe its rules here. What we can say from the verified warnings is how to test the person writing to you:

Did they contact you first, out of the blue? A real programme has an official web page you can find yourself, without clicking a link in their message.
Do they use a free email address or an address that does not end in a government domain? The High Commission says only @dfat.gov.au and @border.gov.au count for border-related government email.
Do they ask for money, passport copies or ID before any official step? Scamwatch advises never sending your passport or identity documents to an employer or recruitment firm unless you are certain they are genuine.

A quick comparison of the signs

Sign	What the scam says	What the official position is
Who contacts you	"An officer from the High Commission selected your profile."	No Australian diplomat or Border Force special agent will contact you offering jobs or visas.
Email address	An address ending in .com or .net with an official-looking name	Genuine border-related emails end in @dfat.gov.au or @border.gov.au.
Fees	Pay for a certificate, training or processing first	No credible employer demands pre-employment payments (EFCC).
Paperwork	A "work permit" or visa label sent to you	Australia does not issue work permits or visa labels; ImmiAccount is the only official site to apply.
Travel plan	Fly as a visitor, work papers come later	You cannot work in Australia on an ETA or Visitor visa.

Check any offer in five steps

Stop and keep every message. Do not reply, pay or send documents. Save emails, chat screenshots and any payment details.
Read the sender's address. If a government-style email does not end in @dfat.gov.au or @border.gov.au, treat it as a scam. Home Affairs says emails claiming to be from the department whose address does not end in .gov.au are scams too.
Find the visa on the official route yourself. ImmiAccount is the only official website for applying for an Australian visa, and a visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake. The High Commission itself does not process visa applications.
Ask who the employer is, then look for a sponsored route. A real employer-sponsored job comes with a named employer and an actual visa pathway. Our guide to the Skills in Demand (482) visa shows what that route looks like on the official pages.
Report it. Go to local police, Scamwatch or the Home Affairs Border Watch online form, as the High Commission asks.

If the person claims to be a migration agent

Many fake offers arrive with an "agent" attached. Anyone giving immigration assistance with an Australian visa must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person. Registered agents are listed on the Register of Migration Agents on the OMARA website and each has a Migration Agents Registration Number (MARN). Someone claiming to be an agent without a MARN or OMARA listing is not legitimate. We walk through both registers in registered migration agent or japa consultant, and look at which fees are normal in paying an agent for a job abroad.

Why a real cruise ship history still matters on a visa

Not every mention of cruise ships is a scam. Genuine seafaring work can matter on a visa application: Home Affairs says applicants who spent more than 12 months in the last 10 years working on merchant ships, cruise ships, private yachts or oil rigs must give a police certificate from the vessel's flag country plus a letter of good conduct from the captain or company. That is a requirement attached to a real work history. It is not a reason to pay an agent for a "cruise ship clearance".

Common mistakes

Trusting the logo. Logos and letterheads are easy to copy; the email ending is not.
Paying a small fee "to secure the slot". The first payment is often small so that the later, larger ones feel natural. Repeated fees are a pattern the EFCC describes.
Accepting a visit visa for a work contract. A visitor route is not a work route. Our post on the visit visa and work contract trap explains why the visa and the job must match before you board.
Calling the High Commission for a visa. It does not process visa or citizenship applications, and the Honorary Consul in Lagos does not process visa requests. See where Nigerians should go instead.

Using NaijaAbroad safely

On this site, the Apply button takes you to the contact page, where the email address opens your own email program with a pre-filled message to jobs@naijaabroad.com.ng. Nothing is sent until you press send. If anyone claiming to represent NaijaAbroad asks you for payment, check with the team on the contact page first. Applying does not secure an interview, a job offer or sponsorship, and only the relevant government decides whether a visa is granted.

When you do apply for a genuine job, a clean, accurate CV helps. A tool such as Build AI CV can help you set out your work history, but share only what a verified employer needs. You can browse roles with sponsorship stated, for example in community services jobs, and compare them with anything a stranger sends you. For a wider look at warning signs, read NAPTIP's warning on fake jobs abroad.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Australian High Commission offer jobs or visas?

No. The High Commission says no Australian diplomat or Australian Border Force special agent will contact you offering jobs or visas. It also does not process visa or citizenship applications, which the Department of Home Affairs manages through ImmiAccount.

How can I tell if an email really comes from the Australian Government?

The High Commission says genuine border-related government emails end with @dfat.gov.au or @border.gov.au. Anything ending in .net, .com or any other ending is a scam, however official the logo and signature look.

Can I work in Australia on a visitor visa or an ETA?

No. Home Affairs states that you cannot work in Australia on an Electronic Travel Authority or a Visitor visa. An offer that tells you to travel as a visitor and "sort the work papers" later should be treated as a warning sign.

Should I pay a fee to a scholarship agent or a recruiter before I start?

Treat it as a stop sign. The EFCC says no credible employer demands pre-employment payments for whatever reason, and Scamwatch lists a request to pay a recruitment fee or for training materials before starting as a job-scam warning sign. Verify the offer on an official government page before any money moves.

Where do I report a suspected scam?

The High Commission asks people to report suspected scams to local police, to Scamwatch, or through the Home Affairs Border Watch online form. Keep the messages, emails and payment receipts so you can hand them over.

What happens if I go along with a fake visa or fake job offer?

Home Affairs warns that people who engage in visa fraud through a scam agent risk visa refusal or cancellation and being banned from Australia for up to 10 years. The EFCC adds that fake visas can lead to arrest at exit or entry ports.

Key takeaways

The Australian High Commission names fake job and visa offers, fake Australia Awards scholarship agents and fraudulent cruise ship job offers as scams aimed at West Africans.
No Australian diplomat or Border Force special agent will contact you offering jobs or visas.
Genuine border-related government emails end in @dfat.gov.au or @border.gov.au; any other ending is a scam.
No credible employer asks for pre-employment payments, and Australia issues no "work permits".
Report suspected scams to local police, Scamwatch or the Home Affairs Border Watch form.

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