Fraud Alert

The Dashew Center would like to alert you of continued cases of fraud targeting U.S. non-residents and their family members.  Reported cases involve individuals posing as immigration and tax officials requesting personal and bank information from non-residents in the U.S.  Please remember that the Dashew Center, IRS and U.S. immigration officials will never request your credit card number, Social Security number or banking information from you over the phone.  If you receive a phone call from any individual claiming to be a government official, and you have any question at all about the authenticity or propriety of the call, you should ask for a name and phone number to call the person back.  You may check with a counselor at DCISS before calling the individual back, if you wish.  

Please remember:

• The Dashew Center and U.S. government officials (e.g. from the Internal Revenue Service or U.S. immigration, etc.) will never request your credit card number, Social Security number or banking information over the phone.
• If you ever question the authenticity or propriety of a phone call, you should ask for a name and telephone number to call the person back.
• You may consult with the Dashew Center for any suspicious phone calls or emails you receive requesting your personal information.

If you encounter a fraud attempt, please report the incident to the appropriate government office:

• For tax or bank phishing/identity theft attempts, please report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1
• For U.S. immigration fraud attempts, please report to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): http://www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams

Please refer to the links below for common types of scams reported and ways to avoid fraud:

• USCIS: http://www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams/common-scams
• FTC: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0060-10-ways-avoid-fraud