Don’t Be Played for an April Fool!

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reports that immigrants around the country are currently being victimized by phone scams. According to USCIS:

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.

USCIS rarely calls applicants for benefits on the phone and will NEVER request payment over the phone. If you receive a call like this, USCIS requests that you hang up and report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 877-FTC-HELP and report it to local authorities.