A scam is a fraudulent call, email, or text from criminals pretending to be government officials from the U.S. or your home country. They use misleading information to demand payments or financial information. The scenarios they describe can sound very scary and urgent—their tactic is to intimidate and confuse you into following their demands.
Real U.S. government officials (immigration, tax, police) will NEVER call, email, or text and demand payment or financial information.
Other common scam examples
- A Job offer requiring payment from you to begin.
- A request for you to purchase products with your personal money.
Resources
- UCSC Information Technology Service (ITS)
- UC Santa Cruz Police – Scams
- Federal Trade Commission: Avoiding Scams
- IRS: Recognize Tax Scams and Fraud
How to respond if you think you are being scammed
- Do not give any personal or financial information
- Do not make any payments requested by the caller/sender
- Avoid making any urgent decisions
- Report it:
- UCSC Campus Police via (831) 459-2231 ext. 1
- ITS Support Center (emails to your UCSC account)
- USCIS (immigration-related fraud)
- Federal Trade Commission
- Department of State (866) 283-9090 or jvisa@state.gov
- When in doubt, contact IFSS at ischolar@ucsc.edu.