International students are sometimes targeted by scammers. Be aware of these common scam techniques to help protect yourself.

Be aware that scammers:

• Try to confuse you by complicating the immigration process;
• Use social media, email, or phone calls to conduct their attacks; and
• Impersonate government officials to manipulate the victim into giving out personal information.

Be cautious of:

• Emails that look legitimate, but are sent by people you don’t know;
• Emails with typos and incorrect spellings;
• E-mails that do not end in .gov and end in (.net, .org, .com, or .info for example)
• Suspicious emails you don’t normally receive;
• Offers of assistance to expedite your case for money;
• Promises of a quick benefit; and
• Downloading or opening attachments from senders you don’t recognize.; and
• Requests from USCIS to transfer money to an individual or pay fees other than through your myUSCIS account

Threatening calls

If someone claiming to be a government or law enforcement official calls you, don't give them any personal or financial information and hang up right away. Scammers might try to scare you into staying on the line by threatening legal action such as arrest or deportation. Don't fall for it—it's just a tactic to keep you talking. 

• Real government or immigration officials will never call you to ask for personal information; they will never threaten you over the phone.
• If you are unsure, contact ISSS for help.

Employment scams

If you are applying for jobs and posted your resume and contact information online, be mindful of the risks. Scammers often exploit such information.

To determine if an offer is a scam, look out for typos or errors or an offer that is ‘too good to be true.’ Review the Student Employment webpage on Job Scams.

If you are looking for on-campus employment, positions are listed in Handshake and can be accessed on the Student Employment Office’s website. 

Requests for payment by gift cards

No reputable business or government agency will request a gift card as payment. .

Requests for payment by phone or email

The government will never ask you to transfer money to an individual. They do not accept Western Union, MoneyGram, PayPal, or Venmo as payment for immigration fees. In addition, they will never ask you to pay fees to a person on the phone or by email. You can pay some immigration fees online, but only if you pay through your and Pay.gov.

Phishing

Some scammers may send an email or text that looks like it’s from a company you know (e.g., bank, credit card, utility company, online payment website, app). This is called . While real companies might communicate with you by email, legitimate companies won’t email or text to request personal information or send a link asking you to update payment information.

Spoofing

Some scammers manipulate caller ID technology so that it appears they are calling from a legitimate office or agency (e.g., FBI, IRS, USCIS, DHS, ICE, police). This is called . If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the request.

Did you receive a suspicious email regarding your immigration status?

Forward it to the USCIS webmaster email box at the USCIS Webmaster email box. Their webmaster can confirm whether an email is a scam or not and provide useful information on how to report it. The webmaster cannot answer immigration questions.

Reporting scams

ISSS encourages you to report the scam to the local police in addition to any of the following offices: 

• (if applicable)
• (if applicable) 

If you released any information to a scam caller

Contact the following on-campus offices to seek additional support or assistance: 

• Office of Victim Assistance (OVA)
• Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS)
• (��������Ƶ PD)

If you paid a scammer

Immediately contact the company you used to send the money, report the fraud, and ask to have the transaction reversed, if possible. For specific advice on how to reverse different types of payments, read .

For more information, review the ISSS webpage on Scams and .

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It has come to the attention of ISSS that there is a ��������Ƶ Boulder-related phone scam impacting the international student population. Scammers are calling international students using a number that appears to be a ��������Ƶ Boulder phone number. This is called . Scam callers are telling students that they have an unpaid ��������Ƶ Boulder fee, and failure to pay the fee will result in immediate deportation. Scam callers are asking for students' passport and visa information before prompting the student to send money through Zelle.  

If you receive such a call, it is a scam! Follow the below guidance if you receive a threatening call or message from someone claiming to be a ��������Ƶ Boulder official: 

• Do not give the person any personal or financial information.  

• Try to collect contact information from the caller.  

• End the conversation immediately if threats and intimidation persist.  

• Contact ISSS and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s .  

• Consider reporting the scam by following the instructions outlined on the ISSS Protect Yourself from Scams webpage. 

For more information on protecting yourself from scams, review the ISSS Protect Yourself from Scams webpage. 

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A recent report from a student highlights a USCIS scam. The student received an email with the subject line containing a case number followed by “(Alien's change of address).”

The email attachment, seen below, appeared to be from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and included a case number, threatening fines, imprisonment, or removal from the U.S. The letter also instructed the recipient to call a 201 number.

This is a scam. Do not respond to this email or call the number listed. If you have responded to the email, contact International Student & scholar Services (ISSS) for guidance on the next steps.

SUBJECT: CASE NUMBER- US16INAR11 (Alien's change of address) Purpose of Notice-

The purpose of this Notice is to inform you that USICE has found that you have failed to update your AR-11(Alien's change of Address) and an online/offline Investigation registered on your documents with our investigation agency's U.S. Department of Justice. As per the Act (INA) section 265 (s USC 1505), Failure to report a change of address is punishable with fine or 6 months to 1 year of imprisonment and/or removal from the United States.

As per the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA, + USC) forward this email and notice to any third party is a punishable crime which can lend his/her arrest warrant with immediate action taken by U.S. Marshals, you can contact USCIS line 201-578- 6846 (Monday to Friday, 10:00 EST - 18:00 EST to register yourself for a background check and update your AR-11 (Alien's change of address).

The U.S. Department of Justice will contact you for the background check, according to USA Immigration Law you are bound to follow all protocols and must cooperate with Federal Officers for the verification of your documents and update AR-11. In the event of non-cooperation will lead to his/her arrest.

Immediate response required to close your online/offline investigation.

If you suspect you have received a scam email, report it to the . If you are unsure about the legitimacy of the email, forward it to the USCIS webmaster. USCIS will review reported emails and coordinate with law enforcement agencies as needed.

More Information ��������Ƶ Scams

• Check out our previous ISSS article on AR-11 scams and the ISSS scams webpage for additional resources and tips.

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A graduating international student reported the following fake job offer scam--

The student was approached and interviewed by a person who represented himself from the company's recruiting team. After the interview, the student was offered a job and sent an appointment letter to sign. After a discussion with the Hiring Manager, the student signed the offer letter and was asked to provide their passport. They were also sent a digital check and asked to deposit the money in their bank account to purchase work equipment.

How To Avoid a Job Scam

Before you accept a job offer, take these steps to avoid common job scams:

• Search online. Look up the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” See if others say they’ve been scammed by that company or person. No complaints? It doesn’t guarantee that a company is honest, but complaints can tip you off to possible problems.
• Talk to someone you trust. Describe the offer to them. What do they think? This also helps give you vital time to think about the offer.
• Don't pay for the promise of a job. Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. Anyone who does is a scammer.
• Never bank on a “cleared” check. No honest potential employer will ever send you a check to deposit and then tell you to send on part of the money, or buy with it. That’s a . The check will bounce, and the bank will want you to repay the amount of the fake check.

What To Do if You Paid a Scammer

No matter how you paid — , or , , cash reload card, or — immediately contact the company you used to send the money, report the fraud, and ask to have the transaction reversed, if possible. For specific advice on how to reverse different types of payments, read .

Additional Resources

• Employment-Related Phishing Emails and Scams
• Protect Yourself from Scams

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which enforces tax laws, recently warned that financial scams are on the rise, especially during tax season. Reduce your risk of becoming a target by staying alert and knowing what to watch for.

Spotting the most common tax scams.
Scammers may contact you via phone, email, text, or social media and then impersonate the IRS to make you think there’s a problem with your tax return. Common scam strategies include: 

• Using false phone numbers or accounts to mimic a legitimate text or call from the IRS. This is called .
• Adopting fear tactics, such as suggesting your tax return has an error or that you owe a large sum of money or a penalty, as well as taking urgent action to address these types of issues.
• Instructing you to provide unusual payment methods (such as gift cards, money transfers or cryptocurrency) to pay your taxes.
• Asking you to share personal information to facilitate tax refunds.

Three tips to safeguard against tax scams:

1. The IRS always initiates contact about any tax issues with a letter on official IRS letterhead. They will never contact you by phone, text, email or social media.
2. Don’t give your personal information to anyone contacting you via phone calls, texts, email or social media.
3. You can verify the legitimacy of any communication you receive using the published IRS phone number: 1-800-829-1040.

Remember, real government or immigration officials will never call you to ask for personal information; they will never threaten you over the phone. Don't give them any personal or financial details.

If you’re targeted by a scammer, ignore it instead of responding.

Reporting Scams

If you experience a scam, ISSS encourages you to report the scam to the local police in addition to any of the following offices:

• Visit the for instructions on reporting tax scam attempts
• Report fraud to the
• (if applicable)
• (if applicable)

If you released any information to a scam caller, contact the following on-campus offices to seek additional support or assistance:

• Office of Victim Assistance (OVA)

For more information, carefully review the ISSS webpage on scams and

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Job scams are a common way criminals seek to gain personal information and money from targets. When searching for a job, start with safe and reliable sources--e.g., Handshake, . Be wary of any employment opportunities presented in emails, especially if you did not seek the opportunity.

How To Avoid a Job Scam

Before you accept a job offer, take these steps to avoid common job scams:

• Search online. Look up the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” See if others say they’ve been scammed by that company or person. No complaints? It doesn’t guarantee that a company is honest, but complaints can tip you off to possible problems.
• Talk to someone you trust. Describe the offer to them. What do they think? This also helps give you vital time to think about the offer.
• Don't pay for the promise of a job. Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. Anyone who does is a scammer.
• Never bank on a “cleared” check. No honest potential employer will ever send you a check to deposit and then tell you to send on part of the money, or buy with it. That’s a . The check will bounce, and the bank will want you to repay the amount of the fake check.

What To Do if You Paid a Scammer

No matter how you paid — , or , , cash reload card, or — immediately contact the company you used to send the money, report the fraud, and ask to have the transaction reversed, if possible. For specific advice on how to reverse different types of payments, read .

Additional Resources

• Employment-Related Phishing Emails and Scams
• Protect Yourself from Scams

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Cyber kidnapping is an extortion scheme in which a cybercriminal calls a target and says that they kidnapped a family member and demand money for the family member’s release. Sometimes they use AI to clone the family member’s voice or alter photographs to make it look like a family member is in danger. 

In a recent case, an international high school exchange student was contacted by cyber criminals and told that he had to isolate himself or his family would be harmed. The student disappeared without telling his homestay family and hid outside of town in a tent. The criminal then contacted the family of the student and said they had kidnapped him and demanded ransom money for his safe return. As the family was unable to reach their son, they paid a large sum of money to the supposed kidnappers.

Like other scams, the cyber kidnapper usually calls the target and insists on keeping them on the phone so they cannot contact the family member or police. 

��������ƵPD Commander Eric Edford has some advice for you to share with your family. He suggests telling your family members that if they ever receive a call from someone saying you are kidnapped or in danger, they can always call ��������ƵPD to request a welfare check on you. From outside the U.S., they can call the ��������ƵPD non-emergency number 303-492-6666. In addition, if you receive a scam call, you or a friend can also call or text 9-1-1 to have police respond. Texting may be especially useful if you do not feel safe getting off the phone.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provides the following advice to avoid becoming a victim:

“If you receive a phone call from someone demanding a ransom for an alleged kidnap victim, the following should be considered:

• In most cases, the best course of action is to hang up the phone.
• If you do engage the caller, don’t call out your loved one’s name.
• Try to slow the situation down. Request to speak to your family member directly. Ask, “How do I know my loved one is okay?”
• Ask questions only the alleged kidnap victim would know, such as the name of a pet. Avoid sharing information about yourself or your family.
• Listen carefully to the voice of the alleged victim if they speak.
• Attempt to contact the alleged victim via phone, text, or social media, and request that they call back from their cell phone.
• To buy time, repeat the caller’s request and tell them you are writing down the demand, or tell the caller you need time to get things moving.
• Don’t agree to pay a ransom, by wire or in person. Delivering money in person can be dangerous.”

For additional information, see the and this FBI flyer about Virtual Kidnapping.

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The University of Colorado Boulder is often the target of attempts to gain personal information through malicious emails, also known as phishing. Recently, ISSS has noticed an increasing number of employment-related phishing emails being sent to our international students. Additionally, these emails appear to be sent from colorado.edu email addresses which makes them particularly difficult to identify as fraudulent.

ISSS recognizes that employment opportunities may be enticing. However, we want to encourage you to be wary of any employment opportunities presented in suspicious emails.

If you receive a suspicious email, do not reply, click any links, or open any attachments. Instead, please report the message you suspect to be an email scam or phishing attack to the Office of Information Technology (OIT) by sending that message as an attachment to phish@colorado.edu. For instructions on sending the suspicious email as an attachment, please refer to

Additionally, some of the recently received emails have mentioned remote work opportunities. We want to remind you that as student in F-1 or J-1 student status, you are not permitted to work remotely from home for a position that is typically considered to be “off-campus.” However, if you have an on-campus job, remote work is permitted if the individual department allows it.

If you have any questions about potential phishing emails or employment authorization, please reach out to isss@colorado.edu.

More Information ��������Ƶ Scams

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Several students have reported receiving scam a phone call from a number that is listed as USCIS (the caller information displayed is ). On the phone the students are being told they must complete the Form AR-11 (Change of Address with USCIS) and eventually the scammers will threaten deportation and ask for money in the form of gift cards. Last year, students experienced a similar scam via email.

If you receive a threatening call or message from someone claiming to be a U.S., state, or local government or law enforcement official, do not provide any personal or financial information and end the conversation immediately. You can then contact ISSS for additional support. The scammers will likely threaten you to not hang up the phone, but this is a tactic to try to intimidate you and keep you on the phone. The scammers may know information about you, which can make it seem like they are from the government. However, government agents and immigration officials will never call and ask for personal identifiable information over the phone. They will also never make threats of arrest or deportation over the phone and will never tell you that you cannot contact the ISSS office for help.

If you experience a scam, ISSS encourages you to report the scam to the local police in addition to any of the following offices: 

• (if applicable)
• (if applicable) 

If you released any information to a scam caller, please contact the following on-campus offices to seek additional support or assistance: 

• Office of Victim Assistance (OVA)
•  

You may also read about other common scams on

Please carefully review the ISSS website on scams to learn how to protect yourself.

More Information ��������Ƶ Scams 

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers nationwide are continuing to receive numerous calls from residents concerned about unsolicited calls from scammers posing as U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Residents are reporting the calls are a pre-recorded message stating, “a box of drugs and money being shipped has your (callers) name on it and it has been intercepted.”  The caller is then instructed to press #1 to speak with a CBP Officer/Agent, which then attempts to get the callers banking information.  There have also been reports of this same type of scam, however, the caller is an actual person, not a pre-recorded message.

These calls, whether a pre-recorded message or live person, are phone scams/phishing attempts and residents are urged to not provide the caller with any information. The Department of Homeland Security and CBP does not solicit money over the phone.  If such calls are received, people should make a note of the number, any pertinent details about the call/caller, and immediately hang up.  Residents are encouraged to report the incidents as soon possible. Phone scams can be reported to the .

More Information ��������Ƶ Scams

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