Foreign-born households are the most heavily targeted in the country — by people who know exactly which fears to press. Scam Watch is our alert service: reports from the associations themselves, verified, and broadcast in your language within a day.
Every one of these is running right now in our communities. Each is built to exploit something you cannot easily check.
Someone who is not a lawyer, offering to "fix your papers" for a fee. In Latin America a notario is a trained legal professional; in the United States a notary public is not. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative may give immigration advice. Ask for the bar number and check it.
A caller claiming to be from immigration or the tax authority, demanding payment now — by gift card, wire or crypto — or you will be arrested or deported. Neither agency calls to demand payment. Neither takes gift cards. Neither threatens arrest by phone. Hang up.
A call or message from "the consulate" about a document problem, a fee owed, or a relative in trouble. Consulates do not call to collect money. Hang up and call the consulate’s published number yourself.
A "cheaper rate" from an unlicensed sender, a WhatsApp contact offering to carry cash, or a fake app. Every legitimate money transmitter is licensed and searchable on the state regulator’s site. If you cannot find the licence, do not send.
A job offer that needs a "processing fee," a training deposit, or your documents up front. No legitimate employer charges you to be hired. Already working and not being paid what you are owed? Your rights at work, whatever your status.
An apartment you cannot see, a landlord who is "abroad," a deposit by wire to hold it. Never pay for a home you have not entered with the keys in hand.
Within hours of a death, a call from a "repatriation service" demanding a deposit to release the body. Nobody can hold a body for payment. Call your consulate before you sign anything — the Consular Desk on this site explains the order.
A call, often with a voice that sounds like a relative, saying they are in jail, hospital or trouble abroad and need money now. Hang up and call the relative directly on the number you already have.
You have won, you qualify, you are owed — and you need to pay a fee to receive it. Money you are genuinely owed never costs money to collect.
A driver’s licence, a work permit, a Social Security number — for a fee, no questions. These documents cannot be bought. The seller keeps your money and, often, your identity.
Pay now, decide now, or something terrible happens. Real institutions give you time. Pressure is the tell.
Gift cards, wire to a person, cryptocurrency, cash to a courier. No government office, court or consulate is paid this way.
"Do not tell anyone." Anyone who asks you not to check with your family, your association or a lawyer is telling you why.
A screenshot, a phone number, a description — whatever you have. We never ask your immigration status and you may report anonymously.
If you have already lost money: report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, to your bank or the transfer company immediately, and to local police. Then tell us, so the next family does not.