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Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding Trump's immigration crackdown by posing as federal agents and targeting foreign students studying in the US.
The FBI this week issued an alert about the scheme, warning that fraudsters are preying on Middle Eastern students in the US with valid visas.
"Criminal scammers impersonate US and foreign government officials claiming there is an issue with the student's immigration status and exploit this for financial gain," the alert says. "Thus far, we are aware scammers have targeted students from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan."
Scammers reach out to potential targets through phone calls that spoof the number of a federal agency. They tell the students they are either in violation of their F-1 student visa requirements or face some other immigration issue.
“Victims are threatened with prosecution or deportation and asked to pay an unknown entity or bank account to process immigration paperwork, pay university registration fees, or pay a legal fee,” the alert adds. In some cases, scammers send links that redirect students to fake websites.
People are pretending to work for the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services. “In some instances, the scammers vary this scheme by presenting themselves as government officials from foreign countries, including UAE and Qatar. Diplomats from the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC, have been impersonated as well,” the FBI notes.
This is another example of how scammers are quick to capitalize on current events. But the scam is particularly devious since the Trump administration has tried to revoke visas for foreign students while detaining others for views critical of Israel’s war in Gaza.
If you're a student who receives such a call, the FBI says: “Verify you are speaking with a government official by hanging up and contacting the office through a third-party obtained number (eg. web search for legitimate contact information), then asking for the agent or department you were speaking with.”
Students should also verify that any links to government websites are legitimate by checking the domain name.
“If you believe you are the target of a government impersonation scam targeting foreign students, gather all relevant documentation and contact diplomatic security at your home country's embassy, the FBI, or Bureau of Diplomatic Security at the Department of State,” the alert adds.