UNHCR has received reports of refugees and asylum-seekers fraudulently using UNHCR documents. This includes individuals who have:
- Presented someone else’s UNHCR card as their own
- Replaced the photograph on someone else’s UNHCR card with their own photograph or
- Used a fake UNHCR card
Please be advised that these are fraudulent activities. Using, purchasing, or selling fake UNHCR cards, or presenting or altering someone else’s UNHCR card as your own, is strictly prohibited and may lead to your arrest. It will complicate UNHCR’s verification process with the authorities and delay your case with UNHCR as you will be investigated for fraud.
Even if your case is closed with UNHCR and you are arrested by the authorities, you must provide your own UNHCR card number for verification purposes.
If you know of anyone using, producing, or selling fake UNHCR cards or UNHCR cards belonging to somebody else, please report it via email to mlslufrd@unhcr.org or via the Online Complaint Form available here. Reporting on fraud will not delay your case with UNHCR or lead to you being investigated for fraud. All reports on fraud received by UNHCR are kept confidential and are not disclosed to anyone else without your consent. Please refer to the explanation videos available on YouTube in English, Malay, Arabic, Burmese, Hakha, Jingpo, Mon, Persian, Rohingya, Somali, Tamil, Tedim, and Urdu. The posters in different languages can be found here.
UNHCR Malaysia does not tolerate any form of fraud and corruption. UNHCR Malaysia’s Risk, Integrity and Oversight Team (RIOT) encourages anyone making an allegation related to fraud and corruption to provide as much information and evidence as possible.
Please remember that all UNHCR services are free of charge. You cannot pay to receive any service, or faster service, from UNHCR. To find more information on Fraud and Corruption, please visit this page.
For individuals who were previously registered with UNHCR but currently have closed files, re-opening requests can be submitted to the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Unit via email (mlslursd@unhcr.org). Due to the high number of reopening requests sent to the RSD Unit, please expect a significant delay in processing the reopening request. Individuals with serious vulnerabilities and/or urgent and emergency protection concerns may be prioritised. More details on the re-opening process can be found here.