Police: Miami athlete reports scam involving immigration questions

A female international student who is a Miami athlete told police Sept. 2 she had been contacted by someone claiming to be an ICE agent as well as another supposedly from a law enforcement agency telling her that her immigration status was in question and she would have to pay an attorney to correct the situation.

She said she looked up the numbers and they seemed to be credible.

She was given a name and told to pay $990 to that person through Zelle. The payment, however, never went through because it was flagged by her bank as fraudulent activity. The would-be ICE agent at some point told her to call on a private number. She was then told to download two applications titled Any Desk and Quick Support/Team Viewer to her phone and the latter one to her laptop.

She was then told to pull up her banking information. She said there was approximately $5,000 in her account.

The victim was then told they would create an E-Wallet for her and she was to place $4,900 into a Peruvian bank account. She was told someone would stop by her house the next day and give her access to her E-Wallet.

She was in contact with the caller for another day, but when she tried the number again, it had been disconnected and she realized she had been the victim of a scam. She went to her bank and advised them of the fraudulent transfer and then went to the police department to make a report.

The officer was not able to develop suspect information and noted in the report it appears likely it involves subjects outside of the United States.

About the Author