USCIS Message: Beware of Immigration Scams

Immigrants all over the country are being targeted for phone scams. Don’t be one of the victims!

Scammers pretend to be a government official and call immigrants saying there is a problem with their immigration record. Sometimes they know personal information about the immigrant. They ask for personal and sensitive details, and demand immediate payment to fix the problem. They get angry and threaten people with deportation if payment is not made immediately with electronic money transfers.

Sometimes, scammers use special software to make it look like our 800 number is calling. Other times they leave a message to call a number that sounds exactly like our 800 number.

Remember, USCIS officials rarely call customers on the phone, and WE WILL NEVER ASK FOR PAYMENT OVER THE PHONE. If we need payment, we will send a letter on official stationery requesting payment.   

If you receive a call like this, hang up and report it to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.  

Visit www.uscis.gov/avoidscams for information on where to report scams in your state. If you have a question about your immigration record, please call customer service at 800-375-5283, or make an InfoPass appointment at http://infopass.uscis.gov.

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week: Phone Scams

This is Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, and we want you to be aware of tax scams! Today’s lesson: phone scams.

Do not fall victim to scammers who call and say they are with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)! There has been an increase in aggressive phone scams where people call and threaten you with police arrest or deportation if you don’t pay them.

Even if you do owe taxes…

·         The IRS will NEVER call and demand immediate payment over the phone.

·         The IRS will NEVER try to threaten or intimidate you, demand payment with a prepaid debit card, or ask for your credit card or debit card number over the phone.

·         The IRS will NEVER threaten to call the police or immigration agents if you don’t pay.

If you get a call like this, report it to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration by calling 800-366-4484 or visiting www.tigta.gov. Also, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/complaint.

For more information on tax scams, watch this video and read this IRS Tax Tip. 

Visit uscis.gov/avoidscams or uscis.gov/eviteestafas to learn how to recognize and avoid immigration scams and find authorized legal services. 

Recent Telephone Scam Alert

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) learned of a new telephone scam targeting USCIS applicants and petitioners. 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.

If you receive a call like that, USCIS urges you to say “No, thank you” and hang up immediately.

USCIS never asks for any form of payment or personal information over the phone. Do not give payment or personal information over the phone to anyone who claims to be a USCIS official. In general, we encourage you to protect your personal information and not to provide details about your immigration application in any public area.

If you have been a victim of this telephone scam, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, or report it to an appropriate state authority. (Visit www.uscis.gov/avoidscams for information on where to report scams in your state.)

  

Scam Alert: Individuals Misrepresenting Themselves as DHS Employees Calling Indian Nationals

There have been recent reports of Indian nationals in the U.S. receiving phone calls from people falsely representing themselves as DHS employees asking the foreign nationals to pay a penalty via money transfer to resolve discrepancies in their immigration cases.  The people making the phone calls have had access to personal information such as passport numbers and foreign addresses and have threatened adverse actions such as deportation. 

According to one source, phone calls have come from Ohio numbers with a 567 area code and Washington, DC number with a 202 area code.

The Department of State, USCIS and the CIS Ombudsman are aware of the situation. If you have been contacted by someone claiming to represent the Department of Homeland Security, please contact immigration@ohr.gatech.edu immediately.