It is essential to remain vigilant when dealing with immigration-related matters, as several unscrupulous individuals and organizations attempt to scam unsuspecting victims. One common type of immigration scam involves scammers calling people and pretending to be Immigration officials.
This article will cover the following:
- What are immigrations scams?
- How to identify and report immigration scam calls
- Steps to avoid becoming a victim of immigration scams
What Is an Immigration Scam?
A typical telephone immigration scam involves a call from an individual claiming to be from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or another government agency. The caller may offer “help” in obtaining a visa, green card, or other forms of documentation and ask you to pay for their services.
The other type of scam is where scammers pretend to be ICE agents and cops. Their caller ID is spoofed to make the victim believe it. While the ICE agent threatens to deport the victim, who is an immigrant, the fake police officer threatens the victim of an arrest. He then convinces the victim to pay the amount the ICE agent is asking to evade arrest. If the victim panics and pays the money, it is lost forever.
How to Know if an ICE Agent Call Is a Scam
Here are some signs that can help you identify if an ICE agent call is a scam
- The INS, USCIS, and other government agencies never ask for money over the telephone.
- ICE agents or the police do not call immigrants to tell them about their arrest or deportation
- Cops or people in government agencies will not ask for bank information over the phone.
How to Report Immigration Scam Calls
If you suspect the ICE agent call you received is a scam, you can report the caller to the Office of the Inspector General, Dept of Homeland Security at 1-800-323-8603.
If one of the scammers posed as a cop, you could report the caller to the Metropolitan Police Department Financial Crimes and Fraud Unit at (202) 727-4159.
You can also file complaints at the FTC or the Better Business Bureau to protect other unsuspecting people.
How to Prevent Becoming a Victim of Immigration Scam
To avoid Immigration scam calls, you can be proactive and get a spam blocker to block calls on your landline before it rings. You can download several apps to block spam calls on Android and iPhones. Read on!
The Best Way to Block Spam on your Landline
Most landline providers do not offer spam-blocking services, leaving you with no option but to block them manually on your phone. Manually blocking spam calls is ineffective because you can block numbers only after receiving the call.
The only effective way to block spam calls is to switch to a provider that blocks them automatically before they reach you.
Community Phone offers landline phone service with built-in spam call blocking that can stop unlawful and unwanted calls from reaching your landline. It allows you to keep your landline phone without tying it to the internet.
Get rid of unwanted calls, and protect yourself, your loved ones, or your business from scams with Community Phone's spam-calling blocking services. Its spam call blocker can automatically detect spam, fraud, or robocalls and stop them before your phone rings.
How does It work?
- When you receive a call to your Community Phone number, your phone won't ring immediately. The caller will hear a recording that asks them to "press 1 to connect."
- Robocalls work by sensing when the recipient picks up the phone and speaks. Once they hear a sound that isn't the sound of the phone ringing, the recording begins.
- Since robocalls don't press buttons, the call will never reach your phone.
- If an "unidentified caller" follows the instructions and your phone rings, you can let the call go to voicemail and respond to the voicemail if it's a legitimate caller.
The Allowlist
The Community Phone "Allowlist" is a list of numbers you pre-approved to receive calls from. Your phone will ring only to let calls from the pre-approved numbers reach you. It will block all other numbers before your phone rings. You can update this list anytime to add or delete pre-approved numbers.
This feature is handy for seniors who are unsuspecting victims of phone scams. The Community Phone account holder can prevent anyone seniors don't know from reaching them, guaranteeing they'll avoid phone scams.
Download Community Phone’s FREE Spam Blocking App
Community Phone now offers a free spam-blocking app for iOS devices, providing the best protection against unwanted calls. It blocks spam calls on your cell phone and landline before either phone rings, giving you peace of mind.
The Community Phone app has advanced features, such as notifications to alert you about the numbers it blocks. It has been carefully designed to ensure complete user satisfaction and convenience.
The Community Phone spam-blocking app is completely free to download from the Apple store, ensuring that everyone can protect their phones from annoying spam calls. Once installed, Community Phone works in the background to monitor incoming calls and blocks any suspicious activity.
The Community Phone app is incredibly easy to use, allowing users to customize settings according to their preferences. You can choose what type of calls you want Community Phone to block. Landline users can also set up a whitelist for specific contacts in the app, so Community Phone's filters will not block them.
Thanks to its advanced algorithms and AI-backed technology, what sets Community Phone apart from other spam-blocking apps is its ability to block even unknown numbers. This ensures complete safety and security while using the Community Phone app. In addition, Community Phone has many other features, such as real-time monitoring, caller name recognition, call stats tracking, and more!
Overall, Community Phone’s FREE Spam Blocking App provides an effective solution against annoying spam calls without compromising performance or reliability. Its optimized features and intuitive interface make blocking unwanted calls a breeze!
The Best Way to Block Spam on Your iPhone
There are 2 ways to block spam calls on your iPhone
1. The Community Phone Spam Call Blocking App
You can find Community Phone's spam blocker in the Apple Store. Download this free app on your iPhone to block spam calls and text messages. You can also add the spam number to the Community Phone blocklist to update their blocklist. This action can help protect you and other Community Phone members from unwanted calls from that number.
2. Manually Block the Spam Number from Your iPhone
You can block scam calls manually on your iPhone by following these steps:
- Open the Phone App
- Tap > Recent
- Locate the number you want to block
- Tap the info icon
- Scroll to the bottom
- Tap block this caller
- Tap Confirm
The Best Way to Block Spam on Your Android Phone.
You can block scam calls manually on your Android Phone by following these steps:
- Open the Phone App
- Tap more
- Access Call History
- Tap the number/name you want to block
- Tap Block/Report Spam
Benefits of Choosing the Community Phone Spam Blocker
Here are some benefits of choosing the Community Phone spam-blocker services:
1. Built-in Spam Blocker
Traditional landlines do not have in-built spam blockers. If you have a traditional landline, you can manually block spam numbers until you reach a limit. However, you can block the number only after you receive the call, which could be risky in many cases as you may have engaged the scammer.
The Community Phone built-in spam blocker scans, flags, and blocks spam calls before your phone rings, protecting you from scams and fraud.
2. Great Advantage for Seniors
The Safelist can ensure seniors are not troubled by scammers calling from unknown or unidentified numbers. The person who controls the Community Phone user account can pre-approve numbers from which the senior would like to receive calls. The spam blocker service will only allow calls from pre-approved numbers and block all other calls.
3. Take Control of Your Protection
You can update the Safelist or the Allowed list at any time to add or delete numbers. This feature prevents you from engaging scammers and ensures peace and protection against scams and fraud.
4. Effective Where the "Do Not Call" List Fails
The Do Not Call list is not effective against scammers. To prevent scam calls and to protect yourself from fraud, sign up for the Community Phone spam-blocker services for your landline or download their app for iPhone now.
FAQs
What is the best free scam call blocker for the iPhone?
Community Phone’s spam-blocking app on the Apple store is the best free scam call blocker for your iPhone. It blocks unwanted calls before your phone can ring, protecting you from scams and fraud.
Conclusion
Immigration scams are a common occurrence and can take different forms. If you suspect a scam or have been a victim, file a complaint with your local law enforcement agency, the Federal Trade Commission, or Better Business Bureau. Use the tips provided in this article to identify and report immigration scams.
But the best solution to avoid these scams is to get the Community Phone spam-blocker services. The spam blocker can block unwanted and unlawful calls from ringing your phone, ensuring ultimate protection. Talk to their specialists today to learn more!