USCIS Alert on Telephone Scams Targeting Applicants and Petitioners

A new telephone scam is taking advantage of immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship. Using a technique called "Caller ID spoofing," thieves posing as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials display false information or inaccurate phone numbers on the recipient's Caller ID to request personal information like Social Security numbers, alien registration numbers (A-number) or passport numbers, according to a report from Univision.

Through its official blog, the USCIS explains that scammers also identify "supposed issues in the recipient's immigration records and asks for payment to correct these records."

The targets are USCIS applicants and petitioners. According to the Saipan Tribune, most of the victims who have notified USCIS about this scam are non-immigrants from India.

"Any request we make for payment would come in the mail on USCIS letterhead stationery," USCIS said, according to the Tribune.

As Immigration ABC points out, the USCIS doesn't ask 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," the USCIS stated through its official blog.

Through a statement released on Tuesday, Aug. 20, the USCIS' Public Engagement Division addressed the issue. "If you receive a call like this, we urge you to say 'No, thank you' and hang up immediately," said the USCIS in a statement. 

To help the public avoid scammers, the USCIS launched the Unauthorized Practice of Immigration Law (UPIL) Initiative, "to combat immigration services scams by equipping applicants, legal service providers and community-based organizations with the knowledge and tools they need to detect and protect themselves from dishonest practices."

On its official website, the USCIS offers information on common immigration services scams, state-by-state information on where to report a scam and how to find authorized legal help, among other resources.

The organization recommends that any potential victims of the telephone scam report their cases to the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, or contact an appropriate state authority.

For information on where to report scams in your state visit www.uscis.gov/avoidscams.

Those interested can also call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 for information on immigration records, or make an InfoPass appointment by visiting USCIS at https://infopass.uscis.gov/.