Feds Cracking Down on Immigration Scams

From Fox News Latino:

Federal officials are cracking down on immigration scams.

In a press conference this past week, federal officials explained that immigration services scams are getting so sophisticated that fraudsters now advertise online with websites that perfectly mimic those of official government agencies.

So the federal government is setting out to raise awareness about such scams.

Officials from several federal, state and local agencies, as well as immigration lawyers and advocates, met in Newark in recent days to expand nationwide a campaign that started in seven pilot cities. It focuses on enforcement, education and interagency collaboration.

“They are not just high-tech scams, they are people in the neighborhoods: people who know people, people who are out there shaking hands,” said Kelvin Chen, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission, as he spoke about the need to increase awareness among immigrants who are often preyed upon by members of their own communities.

The campaign is aimed at educating legal and undocumented immigrants to avoid everything from unlicensed service providers to websites that mimic those of government agencies. Most scams involve people who pretend to be able to provide legal aid or other services for immigrants, take victims’ money and fail to deliver. Read more…

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