Cops warn of fake feds shaking down immigrants
With the Trump administration threatening immigration crackdowns, police say scammers posing as federal agents have been shaking down local illegal immigrants, threatening them with raids and deportation if they don’t pay.
Last week, a family in Lynn reported getting a phone call from someone pretending to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and threatening to raid their home if they didn’t send money through Western Union or an electronic transfer, said Juan Gonzalez, a community activist who’s working with residents and Lynn police to spread the word.
“At this moment, people are afraid with rumors,” Gonzalez told the Herald yesterday. “We tried to bring a family today into the Lynn Police Department, but people are still afraid, even to go to the Lynn police station to speak about it.”
Lynn police put out an alert yesterday, saying the department “is aware that there may be people who are trying to profit off the climate of fear by pretending to be ICE agents and demanding money to prevent an arrest.” The notice advises residents to call police to confirm whether ICE is in the city. “ICE agents check in with the Lynn Police Department before coming into our City and inform us about their location and whereabouts.”
Gonzalez said he’s also heard about the scam happening in East Boston and Chelsea, and people being told on the phone to meet up in person to hand over cash. ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls acknowledged the scam stretches beyond Lynn.
“Unfortunately, we have seen similar scams in other regions,” Walls said.
ICE advises residents request to see the badge of anyone posing as an agent, and to be suspicious if the person can’t present credentials, demands money, or tries to detain someone and refuses to disclose where they are being taken. Victims are urged to call local police and call ICE’s tip line at 866-DHS-2-ICE.
Sarang Sekhavat, federal policy director for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said such scams pop up whenever there’s a change in federal immigration enforcement policy.
“It puts the community on edge so that they become more susceptible to these type of scams,” he said.