Ammon News - The FBI has issued a warning about a scam targeting foreign students in the United States, particularly those from Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

According to the FBI alert, scammers are posing as federal officials and contacting students with valid visas, claiming there are issues with their immigration status. The scammers often impersonate officers from US government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Homeland Security Investigations, and exploit this for financial gain, the Economic Times reported.

The scam typically begins with a phone call that appears to come from a legitimate federal agency. Victims are told they have violated their F-1 student visa conditions or are facing another immigration-related problem. The scammers then pressure the students to pay for legal or immigration services, university registration fees, or to fix alleged visa violations. In some cases, they provide links to fake government websites designed to steal information or money.

The alert also mentions that scammers sometimes pose as officials from foreign governments, including diplomats from the UAE and Qatar.

The FBI advises students who receive such calls to verify the caller’s identity by hanging up and contacting the relevant agency directly using independently verified contact information. Students should also be cautious when clicking on links and confirm that website domains are legitimate government addresses.