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Indian students in the US are facing a tough time with several setbacks jeopardizing their US dreams. In a fresh incident, an Indian student in the US was duped of USD 5,000 (approx. Rs 4.29 lakh) by individuals posing as federal immigration officers, even as the uncertainty over foreign students looms large.
According to a report in Newsweek, Shreya Bedi, a UI designer pursuing her master’s degree was scammed by people claiming to be Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. Bedi landed in the US on a F-1 visa in 2022 to pursue post graduation in Human-Computer Interaction at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Amidst the chaos over deportation and illegal immigration, Bedi, on May 29, received a phone call from some anonymous individual claiming to be an ICE officer. He told her that she had not reported her administration number and convinced her that she had violated the immigration laws. Under pressure, she purchased USD 5,000 worth of gift cards as “bond” payments to avoid being arrested and deported. Petrified over the violation of laws and the consequences, she kept crying the entire time.
To gain Bedi’s confidence, the caller identified himself with a name and badge number asking her to verify his identity through ICE’s official website. She found the phone number matched with a legitimate ICE office in Maryland. Later, she received another call, mentioning about another number from the Olympia Police Department, and the caller also said that there was an active arrest warrant against her.
However, he said that her case was under investigation unless ICE confirmed. The caller even instructed Bedi to stay on the phone and not contact anyone as her phone was under surveillance. “For three hours, I was on the phone, as the caller warned me against hanging up or contacting anyone would only make things worse. I felt completely trapped,” Bedi said.
Under their instructions, she purchased USD 5,000 worth of Apple and Target gift cards and shared the codes over the phone. The scammers even told her that a police officer would collect the cards and bond papers the next day but he never came. It was only after that day, Bedi realized that she had been duped after speaking to a friend who told her about similar scam stories online. She said that she believed in the scammers as they revealed much of her personal information like her port of entry, educational background, and even some specific details about her hometown in India.
She said that she was completely drained, both emotionally and financially, after the incident. In addition to her student loan, now she faces an additional USD 5,000 in credit card payments. After facing the scam, Bedi launched a GoFundMe campaign and has been sharing her story to warn other global students.
She suggested that students can hang up and call a lawyer, in case of such incidents. As we lack knowledge about the system here, and we can easily fall prey to the scammers, she warned and asked others to learn from her mistake.
Meanwhile, ICE ramped up arrests across the country under Trump’s administration.
Tags Shreya Bedi
