US Customs and Border Protection reiterated a warning about a phone scam that “targeted citizens across the country to obtain personal information that could violate financial security regulations.”
The agency said in a post on X on Sunday that the scammers are impersonating CBP officers and Border Patrol agents while promising money for information or threatening that law enforcement is on the way.
The social media The post referred to a previous warning from November that followed “several phone calls from residents concerned about scammers.”
“If CBP suspects illegal activity, we will not make calls to the suspect or victim asking for money or social security numbers,” CBP Houston Operations Director Rod Hudson said in a statement. .
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US Customs and Border Protection says scammers are looking for bank information while posing as agents. (US Customs and Border Protection)
“To be clear, CBP will not make calls threatening citizens that law enforcement is on the way or promising money for information. Anyone who receives a call from US Customs and Border Protection about delivery of drugs or money should be recognized as a scam no matter how genuine the caller may sound,” the statement continued.
Scammers even provide a CBP employee's name and phone number online for the victim to identify, the agency says. Some went so far as to provide false case numbers and badges, according to CBP.
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US CBP says scammers impersonate employees over the phone to obtain the target's financial information. (CBP)
The way the scam worked was to have a recorded message say something along the lines of “a shipment of drugs or money bearing your name and seized,” before the target was asked to press 1 and connect. to a living person.
Citizens on the receiving end of a call known as a phishing attempt should not give the caller any information.
The type of scam CBP is talking about over the phone is known as phishing. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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Telephone calls can be reported to Federal Trade Commission here.
The four main points CBP reminds people of are:
- CBP will not cry for promises of money or threats.
- CBP does not accept gift cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfers.
- Don't trust caller ID.
- Check with CBP if you are unsure whether a call or email is genuine by typing the agency's name into the search field and clicking on its website for information.