Beware of imposters asking for money over the phone.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has again issued an alert against phone scams targeting immigrants.
“Immigrants all over the country are being targeted in scams. Don’t be one of the victims! Scammers may call or email you, pretending to be a government official. They will say that there is a problem with an application or additional information is required to continue the immigration process. They will then ask for personal and sensitive details, and demand payment to fix any problems,” said USCIS, in a statement.
USCIS also reminded the public that officials from their office will never ask for payment over the phone or in an email.
“If we need payment, we will mail a letter on official stationery requesting payment,” it said.
Earlier this month, the Napa Valley Register reported that the Calistoga Police are cautioning residents to be aware of a scam where the victims typically receive a call from 911 regarding their immigration status or an unpaid warrant.
“Calistoga Police have received three reports of such calls recently. If you receive a call from 911, call back the business line of your local law enforcement agency to ensure it was a legitimate call,” the report said.
In the scam, the victim receives a call from 911 or some other number asserting that the victim’s Alien Registration Number is out of status and that the caller is from the Department of Homeland Security or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Office. Some callers assert that the victim owes money for a warrant, police said in their alert.
If the intended victim says they will hang up on the caller, they are threatened that police will go to their home to arrest them. After much conversation, the caller tells the victim that the situation can be taken care of by sending money via Western Union or by obtaining money from their bank and buying prepaid money cards, such as MoneyPAK or Green Dot from a gas station or drug store. The victim is asked to scratch the number behind the card and read it to the scammer.
“Scammers are using a technique called ‘Caller ID spoofing’ to display a misleading or inaccurate phone number in a recipient’s caller ID. The scammer poses as a USCIS official and requests personal information (such as Social Security number, passport number, or A-number), identifies supposed issues in the recipient’s immigration records, and asks for payment to correct these records. The scammers may also already possess the personal information of those they target,” according to the USCIS website.
The American Bazaar had reported last year that Sahil Patel, the notorious Indian American leader of a gang that operated for at least two years through an intricate phone scam that specialized in getting personal information of victims based in the United States, then terrorizing them through phone calls with threat to either have them arrested or deported if they don’t pay money to federal government agencies, was sentenced to over 14 years in prison, in New York City.
Patel committed the crimes from December 2011 until his arrest in December 2013, reported the Associated Press.
Read that story here: http://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2015/07/08/phone-scam-leader-sahil-patel-gets-over-14-years-in-prison-but-h-1b-visa-green-card-holders-continue-to-get-duped/
The USCIS says if you receive a scam email or phone call, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at http://1.usa.gov/1suOHSS