If you should receive a suspicious phone call from someone claiming to be a government official, law enforcement officer, or representative of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), hang up immediately!
Several reports have surfaced of impostor government officials calling individuals using seemingly-legitimate government phone numbers and claiming that there is a problem with the recipient’s immigration application, or that further information is needed to proceed with the immigration process. The scammers then proceed to ask for sensitive information over the phone and sometimes demand payment to fix the problems, either via a money order, voucher, or wire transfer, with threats that deportation or other consequences will occur if payment is not received.
Calls of this type are scams and should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at once.
The USCIS will never ask you for any type of payment over the phone or through email, with any payment requests being sent in the mail on official stationery. It is important that you never divulge personal information or authorize payment to anyone over the phone claiming to be a USCIS official.
I’ve Been Targeted By Scammers – What Do I Do?
If you have been a victim of this scam, click here to report it to the FTC. If you have received a questionable email, voicemail, or phone call and are unsure of its legitimacy, forward it to the webmaster at uscis.webmaster@uscis.dhs.gov. For more information about common scams and ways to avoid them, check out the USCIS’ Avoid Scams Initiative.
At Akula & Associates, P.C., our Dallas immigration attorneys have been helping individuals and businesses navigate through the American immigration system with ease for more than 30+ years. To find out more about how our team of knowledgeable professionals can assist you, call our office today at (844) 299-5003.