Friday, October 4, 2013

Better Business Bureau warns immigrants to beware of scammers posing asimmigration officials

[caption id="attachment_20518" align="alignleft" width="225"]Immigrant family sculpture in England and also Ellis Island Immigrant family sculpture in England and also Ellis Island[/caption]

Marsha Hunt---“Immigrants who may speak little to no English can easily fall prey to callers pretending to be from the USCIS” said Steve J. Bernas,. Bernas is the president, & CEO in the Chicago-Northern Illinois area. His advice comes at a time when officials are seeing more scams targeting people who have arrived in the US legally or illegally.

When in doubt, hang up the phone and don’t let these scammers fool you into stealing your personal information, no matter how convincing the number on the phone looks.”Bernas underlines this information as a warning against scammers who pose as immigration officials who call visa applicants to get personal and financial information. Then they threaten to arrest or deport applications if they don't obey the instructions given by the callers.

The BBB offers the following tips for immigrants, some of which are appropriate for everyone, considering that scammers focus on the elderly, immigrants and the poor.

  • Never wire money to these callers. Real representatives from the USCIS will never require people to give money over the phone.


  • Just hang up the phone. If someone claiming to be from the USCIS calls you, hang up and don’t call back. If you call back, sometimes scammers make it seem like you are calling the real USCIS to trick you.


  • Never give out personal information. No matter what the caller says to you, never give out your I-94 number, “A” number or visa control number.


  • Know the real USCIS contact information. If you get a call from a scammer, call the real USCIS number, which is 1-800-375-5283. Tell them about your situation.

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