The FBI says a new scam that is legally based in the United States through cyber criminals targeting Middle East students is increasing. In an attempt to convince fraudulent students, government officials are imitating that they have a problem with immigration or visa status. Potential, potential victims are asked to pay legal, university and paperwork processing fees to prevent this problem, and to avoid deportation.
Scammers are smart, and are known to take advantage of existing events to develop reliable opportunities. This special rotation has come between the Trump administration’s efforts to promote non -documentary immigrants. Students are also threatening to remove visas in response to Israeli war demonstrations at College Campus across the country.
According to a warning by the FBI’s Internet Crime Crime Complaint Center (IC3), students from Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been targeted so far. Scummers are imitating Homeland Security (DHS), Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) or US citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) agents. In some cases, the scammers have identified themselves from Qatar as foreign government officials, the United Arab Emirates and the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Washington.
The IC3 said in the warning, “They can speak professionally and use the tone and/or language from the callers’ desired location.” It was not clear how much the students were charging with the students. However, the latest FBI annual fraud reports that the victims lost $ 405 million last year from government imitation scams.
How to save yourself from this new scam
The first step to save yourself from a scam is to know about it. So, if you are reading this, you can check this box.
The FBI said that you should always be skeptical of any unauthorized government communication. If this happens, confirm the authenticity of the call or message and start contacting the agency yourself with a number or email found on its website.
You should take time to analyze any link sent to you. Make sure the links are encrypted with a standard “https” encryption and read the URL as you expect. For example, the URLs should end in “.gov” no “gov.org” and should not have random combination of characters and numbers. This is a clean red flag.
The FBI says, in the end, do not download the files or provide a two -factor verification code for an unused collar.
What if I was suffering from this immigration scam?
If you have finished paying the scammers, you immediately from your bank, credit union or credit card company. Should contact. Your financial institution may be able to cancel the transaction on time or return your money.
It is also common for scammers to ask for payment through cryptocurrency and gift cards, regardless of scams. Crypto payment is basically non -refundable, but contacting the gift card issuer can potentially lead to a refund.
The FBI has asked the public to report any fake or suspicious activity at www.ic3.gov. Reporting the agency helps to inform the public and helps law enforcement to detect criminals.
