There continue to be a number of scams targeting international students. Callers often impersonate officials from offices like the Social Security Administration, USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program), or the like. In all cases, the caller uses a tone of urgency to intimidate international visitors and requests sensitive information such as SEVIS ID numbers, physical address, banking information, and/or Social Security Numbers.
Here is an example of one recent scam: The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has been made aware of a spoofing scam involving individuals using the SEVP Response Center (SRC) phone numbers (703-603-3400 and 800-892-4829) and claiming to be SRC representatives. The fraudulent callers are inquiring about Form I-94 documents and asking students to provide information regarding monetary transactions.
Please remember, that legitimate government officials NEVER call and request information from you and you should NEVER divulge personal or sensitive information to these callers. If you receive a call of this nature HANG UP IMMEDIATELY and reach out to our office if you're unsure if this a legitimate call or not. You can also report these calls using the HSI tip line form.
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