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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a fraud alert to warn people of reports that DHS telephone numbers are being used in a scam.

DHS reports the spoofing scam is targeting people throughout the country.

The perpetrators of the scam represent themselves as employees with “U.S. Immigration” or other government entities.

They alter caller ID systems to make it appear that the call is coming from the DHS HQ Operator number (202-282-8000) or the DHS Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) number (202-401-1474).

The scammers are telling people they are victims of identity theft, and getting individuals to give them personal information to then steal their identity.

Scammers are also posing as law enforcement or immigration officials and threaten victims with arrest unless they make payments to the scammers.

The scammers have also emailed victims from email addresses ending in “uscis.org.”

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this telephone spoofing scam is urged to call the DHS OIG Hotline (1-800-323-8603) or file a complaint online.