UK Job Offer Scam targeting Indians

Someone known to me in India recently had an interview with a large mobile company in the UK. He was offered a job (via email) and he accepted. He then received an email from what appeared to be the UK Visa Office (thoroughly bogus). The email is below (with personal info masked). If you visit immi-gov.com mentioned, it is quite clear that this is a setup (in fact, it redirects to to Microsoft's officelive.com where the scammers seems to have lost interest midway through the setup). The UK company in question was contacted directly by my acquaintance. He was told that there was no one in their HR by the name that appears below. The UK company has now started a fraud investigation.
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From: Immigration Services
Date: Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 4:40 PM
Subject: VISA PROCESSING REQUIREMENT
To: --redacted--

REF: VISA PROCESSING REQUIREMENT

ATTENTION: --redacted--,

We received the hard copies of your Appointment Letter from --redacted-- Group Plc here in Uk and also from the Hr Department.

Note that --redacted-- Group Plc has already asked us to contact you on requisite information required to process supporting
documents that would assist you and your dependent to travel down to your duty location to resume duties in record time.

However included herewith are details and information regarding the procurement of you and your wife traveling documents and other supporting documents stated in attach below.

And your Employer Mr. John --redacted-- in --redacted-- Group Plc has mandated us to procure as well as to process your family relevant travel documents, immigration particulars and other supporting documents to facilitate you and your wife to have completed documents in due stipulated time.

The Visa/Residence Work Permit will have to embrace the approval of your family relevant Information with the designated local agencies (Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and industry respectively).

The reason for the review of this policy as communicated by the expatriates with Letter of Contract/Agreement do not have to travel down to UK for any other reason other than the primary aim of commencement of work as required.

You will be required to go through the below requirements & steps attached.

Note that Your Family Visa/Residence Work Permit and the hard copies of your Appointment Letter and Certificate of employment will be issued to you via Courier service after the confirmation of the required attach documents.

Best Regards

Department of British High Commission
Address: --redacted--
London SE12 0NQ, UK,
United Kingdom.
E-Mail: ukpermit@immi-gov.com
E-Mail: Visas@immi-gov.com
Contact Person: Barrister Jonathan Philip
(Immigration Visa Agency)
Office Tel: --redacted--

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There were attachments to the email that were all quite 'official' PDFs. One of them was a form that needed to be filled-up and posted along with various fees totaling to about one thousand UK pounds.

I suppose this sort of elaborate scams are the new wave. Please pass this on to local newspapers in India if you can. This scam is probably targeting other countries as well. (You just trawl the job sites in a target country and you are in business, isn't it?) If anyone needs specific info for reporting, they can get in touch with me [selvakumar @ gmail.com]