U.S. Customs and Border Protection reiterates a warning about a phone scam “targeting residents across the country to obtain personal information that would bypass financial security protocols.”
The agency said in a post to X on Sunday that the scammers are They pretend to be CBP officers and Border Patrol agents while promising money in exchange for information or threatening that law enforcement is on the way.
the Social media The post addressed a previous warning from November that followed a “spike in phone calls from concerned citizens about scammers.”
“If CBP suspects illegal activity, we will not contact the suspect or victim to request money or Social Security numbers,” Rod Hudson, acting director of field operations at CBP in Houston, said in a statement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says scammers are looking for banking information while impersonating customers. (US Customs and Border Protection)
“To be clear, CBP will not make phone calls threatening citizens that law enforcement is on the way or promising them money in exchange for information. Anyone who receives a call from U.S. Customs and Border Protection about A shipment of drugs or money The statement continued: “We must realize that it is a scam regardless of how authentic the caller’s voice is.”
The agency says the scammers have gone so far as to provide the CBP officer's actual name and phone number available online so the victim can identify him. Some went so far as to give their targets fake case numbers and badges, according to CBP.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says scammers pose as employees over the phone to obtain the target's financial information. (Customs and Border Protection)
The way some scams worked was a pre-recorded message stating something along the lines of “drug shipment or money in your name intercepted”, before the target was asked to press 1 and call a live person.
Residents on the receiving end of a call known as a phishing attempt should not provide the caller with any information.
The type of phone scam CBP refers to is known as phishing. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutson)
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Telephone scams can be reported to Federal Trade Commission here.
Four key points CBP reminds people about are:
- CBP will not call out of the blue with promises of money or threats.
- CBP never uses gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers.
- Don't trust caller ID.
- Check with CBP if you're not sure if the call or email is real by typing the agency's name into the search bar and clicking on its website to find contact information.
