eForms

Scams

F-1/J-1 students

We want to help you protect yourself from common scams that target international students studying in the U.S.  Scams are illegal schemes that involve tricking people in order to take their money. Unfortunately, many scams are intended to trick international students. We do not want you to be tricked by these scams. This page provides resources for students and scholars to help recognize these scams and know how to handle the situation.

     If you have been the victim of a scam, you should contact ASU Police immediately at 480-965-3456.

If you think you are the target of a scam, please notify the ISSC at 480-727-4776 or ISSC@asu.edu. 

Employment or job offer scams

You may receive an email offering you a job that sounds too good to be true. If you are looking for a job for Post-OPT or STEM-OPT, please be extremely careful when you receive an email from scammers. Fake job offers can be attempts to steal personal information about you or steal money or financial information from you. There is also the possibility that you could get involved with a criminal activity.

A scam job offer usually:

  • Does not indicate the company name or is not on company letterhead.

  • Comes from an email address that doesn’t match the company name.

  • Does not include the employer contact information.

  • Includes payment for services for almost no work.

  • Offers you a job without ever interacting with you.

  • Asks you to pay an application fee.

  • Wants you to transfer money from one account to another.

  • Offers to send you a check before you do any work.

  • Asks you to give your credit card or bank account numbers.

  • Asks for copies of personal documents.

  • Says you must send payment by wire service or courier.

  • Offers you a large payment for allowing the use of your bank account—often for depositing checks or transferring money.

  • Sends you an unexpectedly large check.

No legitimate employer will send payment in advance and ask the employee to send a portion of it back. Do not provide any personal information, especially Social Security numbers or financial information.

Immigration or U.S. government agency-related scams

Some individuals will claim to be calling from a U.S. government agency regarding an aspect of your immigration status.  Scammers may impersonate an employee of a government agency, such as the following: 

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

  • United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

  • Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

  • Student and Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP).

  • A U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Please note that U.S. government agencies will not contact you by phone or email. Most government agencies will contact you via regular mail for official communications. Visit the USCIS website for tips on avoiding common scams, or read the DHS’s identity theft and internet scams tip card.

Don’t be fooled by these scams. Watch this video to learn more about how you can identify a scam caller.

Tax-related scams

Please also be mindful of scam calls you may receive from individuals claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS has more information about potential scams affecting individuals. In order to keep individuals informed of various scam situations, the IRS keeps a list of phishing and other schemes.

The IRS does not contact taxpayers by email, text message or social media channels to request personal or financial information. This includes requests for PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.

To report the fraudulent misuse of the IRS name, logo, forms or other IRS property, please call the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration toll-free hotline at 1-800-366-4484 or visiting the TIGTA.