The new visa fraud that targets students of the Middle East College is high. Here is how to discover it

The FBI says a new fraud by Internet criminals targeting Middle Eastern students who are legally residing in the United States. Fraudulent Personality impersonate Government officials in an attempt to persuade students that there is a problem in their migration or their visa. To correct the problem, avoid prosecution or deportation, potential victims are required to pay legal work treatment fees, universities and papers.

The fraudsters are smart, and they are known to benefit from the ongoing events to formulate reasonable negatives. This appointed deception comes amid efforts by the Trump administration to intensify the deportation of uncomfortable immigrants. Students also faced threats to remove the visa in response to sharing In Israel, Hamas, war protests on the campus of universities throughout the country.

Students from Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been targeted in the fraud process so far, according to To alert from Internet Crime Complaint Center of the Federal Investigation Office (IC3). The fraudsters impersonate the personality of the Ministry of Internal Security (DHS), the investigations into the Internal Security (HSI) or the US Citizenship and Immigration services (USCIS). In some cases, the fraudsters defined themselves as foreign government officials from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the UAE embassy in Washington.

“They may speak professionally and use dialects and/or a language that matches the alleged location of the callers,” IC3 said in the alert. The amount of fraudsters did not specify the students. However, according to the latest federal investigation office Annual fraud reportThe victims lost $ 405 million for fraud in the government’s personality last year.

How to protect yourself from this new fraud

The first step to protect yourself from the fraud is to know that. So, if you are reading this, you can determine this box.

The FBI said it should always be skeptical of any unwanted government communication. If this happens, start by checking the correctness of the call or the message by calling the agency yourself with a number or email on its website.

It should take some time to analyze any links that the fraudsters send to you. Make sure the links are encrypted with the standard “HTTPS” encryption and read the URL as you expect. For example, URLs should end in .gov and not “GOV.ORG” and should not be a random mixture of letters and numbers. This is it A clear red flag.

Finally, do not download files or provide any unwanted authentication symbols from related factors, says the FBI.

What if you fell victim to this immigration fraud?

If you It ended with payment Family, you should contact your bank, credit union or credit card company immediately. Your financial institution may be able to cancel the treatment in time or return your money.

It is also common for fraudsters to request the payment through the cryptocurrency and gift cards, regardless of the fraud. Encryption Essentially irreversibleBut contact with the gift card source can recover.

The FBI asked the public to report any fraudulent or suspicious activity in www.ic3.gov. Reporting Fraud to the agency helps her to inform the public Law enforcement helps with tracker.