When an immigrant in New York City answered, the voice on the other end told him he was in the U.S. illegally and would have to pay $1,550 to stay. It was a scam, carried out by one of a number of con artists who have been exploiting immigrants' heightened fears of deportation by posing as federal agents and demanding money, authorities say. The targets of such rip-offs are often reluctant to go to the police for fear of exposing their immigration status. The New York attorney general's office, Catholic Charities and ICE have urged immigrants to contact them about such shakedowns. "I think there's a great deal of fear and also a bit of embarrassment about what happened," the councilman said.

Source: ABC News March 09, 2017 19:07 UTC