A Utah mom recalls falling prey to scammers who knew all about her and her family, including that she is a legal resident from South Korea. The FBI warns that such scams are relatively common. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
Estimated read time: 9-10 minutes
PROVO — The same telephone number calls. And calls again. And again.
Spam calls don’t usually keep trying, so the Provo mom takes a break from washing dishes to search the phone number online. It matches that of a government agency, specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sasha Gang, a lawful permanent resident from South Korea, came to the U.S. about 14 years ago for school, and met and married her husband. For much of that time, she says, she has been a stay-at-home wife and mother.
The phone rings yet again. She doesn’t answer it. Another ring — this time she picks up.
“Because I thought this is not a normal call, you know?” Gang recalled.
From the get-go, the woman on the other end of the line asks her to verify her information — her full legal name, when she came to the U.S., how many family members she has, where she is from. The woman already knows all the answers.
“And every piece of information they had was me, so that’s kind of how they start the conversation,” Gang said.
That phone call late last month resulted in Gang being swindled out of $45,000, money she and…
