By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — A 48-year-old West Windsor woman was scammed out of $5,340 by a caller who pretended to represent the U.S. Immigration Office and who threatened to arrest her if she did not send money, according to the West Windsor Township Police Department.
The woman, who is of Asian descent, received a phone call from “Emergency” on her cell phone while she was at work on Feb. 18, police said. The caller said he was from the U.S. Immigration Office and that the victim was no longer a legal citizen because she missed paperwork several years ago.
The victim was told to leave the phone line open and to leave work immediately for home, police said. She was also told to confirm her name, date of birth, home address and driver’s license number over the phone. She also provided her car’s registration, make and model to the caller.
The victim was ordered to keep the phone line open and to have it in her pocket at all times, police said. She also agreed to comply with an option that was offered to her, which involved withdrawing money from her bank account and wiring it to the “solicitor.”
She withdrew $1,100 from her bank account and sent a MoneyGram to the “solicitor,” police said. She was told to leave the cell phone line open all night, and not to tell anyone else about it. She eventually hung up.
But the next day, the victim received another phone call requesting more money that she allegedly owed. She left the phone line open and used a MoneyGram to send $940 to another “solicitor.”
She was told that although she had fulfilled all of the requirements of the option that was offered to her the previous day, there was still an outstanding warrant for her arrest, police said.
To remove the arrest warrant, she was told, she had to send an additional $3,300. She sent a MoneyGram for $1,700 to one “solicitor” and also wired $1,600 via Western Union to another “solicitor.”
The victim was told that a U.S. Immigrations Office representative and the local sheriff would be visiting her home, but she asked to meet with the officials at the West Windsor branch of the Mercer County Library System, police said.
She waited at the library for several hours, but the officials did not show up, police said. She was concerned and drove back to her home, thinking they might be waiting for her there.
On the way home, she stopped a police officer on patrol and explained what had happened. That’s when the police officer told her that she was dealing with a scam, and advised her to file a police report.
