Immigration attorneys in the Roaring Fork Valley are spreading awareness about a recent rise in scams and extortion targeting immigrants in Colorado and across the country.
An increase in federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration this year has resulted in heightened fear and insecurity for many immigrants, which can make people more vulnerable to scams.
Glenwood Springs-based attorneys Jennifer Smith and Claire Noone are not surprised that scammers are taking advantage of the current political climate.
"Unfortunately, the climate of fear and uncertainty has created a furtive landscape for lucrative scams," Noone said. "People are desperate to find some solid footing — passports, visas, relief from deportation — and will pay through the nose for the opportunity."
Examples of scams and extortion that attorneys are seeing in the region range from demanding blackmail payment from someone who is undocumented or does not have secure immigration status, to false promises of expediting immigration documents such as visas or green cards for a hefty fee.
"There are an unbelievable amount of people posing as attorneys, posing as immigration agents, posing as consular officers, and having people wire money all around the globe for documents as part of different scams," Smith said. "And it breaks my heart when people come in and meet with us and they're like, 'But they sent me this piece of paper and I sent them $20,000.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, that's awful because this piece of paper is fake. It isn't legit.'"
Recognizing evolving tactics
Although there are strategies for protecting oneself against this kind of illegal activity, scammers constantly evolve their tactics and can go to great lengths to fool unsuspecting people.
"I mean, they even do these things where they'll have, like, a Zoom conference, where the person dresses up to look like an immigration judge," Smith said. "It's just incredible the depth of the scam, … and it's frankly awful how much people are willing to traumatize other people."
According to both attorneys, immigration officials will never reach out to conduct official business on social media platforms or from personal email accounts, and people should never wire money directly to an individual claiming to be with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or another government agency. Official immigration processes, including the submission of any visa or green card payments or paperwork, should happen directly through a government website such as uscis.gov.
"Even if there's an emergency situation, if you have to move an appointment up or get expedited services, there is a process for that with USCIS," Noone said. "You can call USCIS to get that information and speak to someone in your own language, in the language you understand best, and be able to make sure that you are following the process as it is intended, and are not being extorted."
According to Noone, scammers are also taking advantage of language differences. For example, they are offering an option for people to submit immigration paperwork in Spanish, when USCIS only accepts paperwork in English.
Another example includes "notario fraud," where scammers identify themselves as a "notario," a Spanish word used in Latin American countries to refer to a licensed or accredited attorney. In some cases, Noone said this tactic is used to intentionally mislead people because a notary in the United States is someone appointed by the state government to witness the signing of important documents and does not provide legal advice.
"This unfortunate language situation has really made it difficult to warn of that kind of 'notario fraud,'" Noone said. "And so, language has also played into the situation of scams, and this has kind of been in existence forever, but it's becoming even more prolific as the climate of fear rises and the desperation of people increases."
In the case of someone claiming to offer legal services, residents can check with the Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel to see if the person contacting them has a valid license to practice law in the state.
"So, if you have anyone who represents themselves as an attorney, or offers to give you legal advice, you can check with the counsel online and search for an attorney by name or by bar number, and see that they are indeed licensed in your state," Noone said.
According to Noone, scammers often use a sense of urgency to scare people and persuade them to wire money quickly — and being aware of this tactic can help people recognize that something isn't right.
"I try to encourage people to trust their instincts and confirm any offers, threats or notices directly," Noone said. "Then, if there is a scam, report it to the Colorado attorney general's office. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and it is important to expose the scams, scammers — and learn from the ever-evolving tactics."
People can also report scams and extortion to local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, especially if money has been wired across state lines or internationally, as well as consult a licensed attorney.
"Some of these scams may result in charges at least being investigated that might entitle them to certain kinds of relief under immigration law, depending on the situation," Smith said.
Protections from deportation for people without secure immigration status who report being a victim of a specific crime such as extortion or domestic violence include obtaining U Nonimmigrant Status, also referred to as a "U visa."
"The U visa was designed by Congress and law enforcement to encourage undocumented people to report crimes and cooperate with police," Smith said. "So, that's something we always — at least, when I'm working with people who've been victims of a crime like extortion — explore as an option, if it applies to their situation."
'Problematic' versus 'illegal'
Many exploitative schemes that target immigrants are illegal, but some moneymaking endeavors are not.
Officials with the Mexican consulate in Denver have been warning people about social-media users who book free appointments on their website and then try to sell them.
"Under no circumstances should you pay in advance for an appointment for a temporary or permanent residency visa or any other service at the Mexican consulate. If you qualify, the document has a flat fee, which you can verify on our official website. Do not provide personal information to anyone; appointments are free and must be processed and reviewed by an authorized official. If you have been charged for an appointment, please contact us immediately at: infodenver@sre.gob.mx. We do not work with facilitators," the consulate said in a written statement posted on its Facebook page June 5.
The consulate recently held in-person appointments at Colorado Mountain College in Aspen, and its staff confirmed that a social-media user who does not work for their office appeared to be posting in local Facebook groups encouraging residents to book appointments via a personal WhatsApp number.
"With social media, there are all kinds of ways people are trying to make money, and there are also legit scams," Smith said. "My biggest message to the community is to not believe anything on social media and do not send or wire money to anyone based on contact through social media."
According to Smith, selling real appointments is not illegal, but it's a concerning practice.
"I suppose that would not be a true scam assuming the person actually gets the appointment slot, but it would be problematic since it prevents people from doing the process on their own," Smith said. "But if a person pays [an individual] to get an appointment for them and then finds the appointment is not legit, then that would be theft and a scam."
Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio reached out to the Facebook user in question, as well as to Facebook's parent company, Meta, for comment on this practice. Neither responded to the request or confirmed whether this particular user was selling real appointments for money, but Federico Bass, Denver's deputy consul general of Mexico, said the consulate has seen this kind of activity before.
"Those people often say, 'Oh, no, I'm not selling you the appointment. I'm selling you my time so you can have an appointment,'" Bass said. "That's a very nice way to describe something that is unethical, because you are taking advantage of the needs of a community, and you are taking advantage of a system that is paid by the Mexican taxpayer, so you can make money."
The consulate is making an effort to combat this type of activity by only releasing appointments on certain dates and times and letting residents know in advance when this will be — as well as by reporting people suspected of impersonating consulate staff or selling fake appointments.
"We have been asking our offices in Mexico City to contact Facebook to report these kinds of people, and then we tell the community which day and at what time appointments will be open, so they can do it personally and for free, as it's supposed to be," Bass said.
Free appointments for Mexican passport and visa renewals and other related services can be booked directly on the consulate's website — or via their official WhatsApp number listed on their Facebook page: 424-309-0009.
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