Each year DHS OIG receives hundreds of reports of individuals impersonating DHS employees to defraud the public, the department said in a release.
According to the government watchdog, impersonators can spoof actual DHS phone numbers and create email addresses that resemble DHS email addresses in their attempts appear legitimate.
Some even email or text pictures of real and doctored law enforcement credentials.
These impersonators try to convince targets to provide personally identifiable information, passwords, credit card or bank numbers, or payment via money transfer services or prepaid debit cards, the department warned.
According to DHS OIG reports, these scams are being targeted to immigrants, minority groups or people with foreign ties. The most common ruses are:
- Violations of immigration or customs laws,
- Lost or duplicate passports used abroad to commit crimes,
- Unspecified “Green Cards matters,”
- Packages detained at the border containing drugs or other illegal materials, and
- Problems with the victim’s immigration forms.
Scammers may threaten with arrest, cancellation of visas, or deportation if they do not comply.
Tips from the DHS to protect yourself from such scams
- Be suspicious of telephone calls or emails claiming to be from…
