Deportation fears make immigrants easy targets for scams

ImmigrationDeportation fears make immigrants easy targets for scamsSix immigrants in five states describe losing between $1,300 and $11,000 to people who impersonated law firms or staged fake hearings via video calls.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 26, 2026, 8:30 AM EDTBy Albinson LinaresIn the 30 years she’s lived in New York, Odalys González Silvera said she’d seen everything. But she wasn’t prepared for what happened to her recently.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“Although I sought advice and researched a number of things, unfortunately I fell victim to immigration fraud. I think this internet thing doesn’t help,” she said.González Silvera, 61, a Venezuelan immigrant and a legal resident of the U.S., runs a small grocery store distribution business in the Bronx. She said her life changed dramatically after she sought legal help for a family member in immigration detention in Arizona.After seeking a lawyer there who was unable to make progress on the case, González Silvera said she contacted a Facebook account that appeared to belong to a law firm called “Berman & Associates,” where a person who identified himself as attorney Enrique De Jesus Duarte promised her that he could secure the family member’s release “within a maximum of 15 days.”In several WhatsApp video calls, González Silvera said, that person explained the case’s progress to her and then sent her documents via chat and email similar to those used by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that seemed to show that the case was progressing well.Odalys González Silvera says she sought legal immigration help through social media and was scammed.Albinson Linares / Noticias Telemundo“They show you an office with all their things, their diplomas and the American flag. It’s a really good show, with scenery and everything. I, who was careful about so many things, ended up in a tr...