Scam Alert

The International Center will like to make you aware of a telephone scam targeting international students and scholars. Please see the message below from the Public Engagement Division at the USCIS. 

Contact the International Center if you have questions or concerns. If you have visa documents issued by the UCI International Center, questions about your immigration status in the U.S. should be directed to the UCI International Center, G302 UCI Student Center, and (949) 824-7249. 

In recent weeks, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) learned of a new telephone scam targeting USCIS applicants and petitioners.

Scammers are using a technique called ID spoofing to display a misleading or inaccurate phone number in a recipient’s Caller ID. The scammer poses as a USCIS official and requests personal information (such as Social Security number, passport number, or A-number), identifies supposed issues in the recipient’s immigration records, and asks for payment to correct these records.

Government offices/agencies will never ask for any form of payment or personal information over the phone. Don’t give payment or personal information over the phone to anyone. In general, we encourage you to protect your personal information and not to provide any sensitive information to anyone who calls and asks for it. Do not send money to anyone who calls or contacts you by e-mail or social media.   

If you have been a victim of this telephone scam, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission at
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, or report it to an appropriate state authority. (Visit www.uscis.gov/avoidscams for information on where to report scams in your state.)

If you have a question about your immigration record, please call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283, or contact the International Center if you are on a UCI sponsored visa. 

Information about recent scams is available on the Federal Trade Commission website.