How An Indian Student In US Lost $5,000 To Fake Immigration Officers
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An Indian student, Shreya Bedi, in the US was scammed by imposters posing as ICE agents, who coerced her into buying $5,000 in gift cards. Facing financial difficulties, she warns others about such scams and emphasises the importance of skepticism.
An Indian student in the United States was duped by scammers pretending to be Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, reported Newsweek.
Shreya Bedi, a Master's student at Indiana University Bloomington came to the United States in 2022 on an F-1 visa.
She received the call on May 29th when the imposters said that she had violated immigration laws and forced her to purchase $5000 worth of gift cards as 'bond' payments in order to avoid arrest and deportation.
"He gave me his name and badge number and told me to verify his office details by going to ice.gov and looking up the office in Maryland. I could confirm it was the same phone number he was calling from," Bedi said.
Subsequently, she received a second phone call from someone else posing as an officer from Olympia Police Department, and she was told not to disconnect the call as her phone was being monitored. They said that there was an arrest warrant for her.
'I felt completely trapped because they kept me on the phone for three hours straight, repeatedly warning me that hanging up or contacting anyone would violate my case and make things worse. I was too scared to risk it,' said Bedi.
They had access to all her personal information - the Indian city she came from, how she entered the US and her academic records. "They had so many of my personal details that only official agencies would know," she said.
The scammers directed her to buy Apple and Target gift cards worth $5000 and share the codes with them. They also said that a police officer would collect the cards and bond paper from her the next day but there was no follow-up.
'They put me through hours of psychological torture, making me believe I was going to be deported and arrested,' she added.
Bedi is now facing a huge financial challenge as she is paying off student loans and now she has $5000 in debt.
"I'm living alone in the U.S. with no family support. This money was supposed to help me stay afloat and plan my future here," she said.
"It completely derailed my plans. This affects everything—my ability to save money, my timeline for either returning to India or applying for an H1B visa."
She said that as an international student, it is difficult to understand how the system in the US works which makes them 'easy targets', she added, "I feel embarrassed that I fell for this, but I want others to learn from my mistake."
Bedi is now trying to raise funds on GoFundMe and has cautioned other international students. 'You always have the right to hang up and call a lawyer, government agencies almost never call you directly; they send official mail,' she said. 'No legitimate government agency will ever ask for gift cards, bank details, or your Social Security number over the phone. If someone asks for any of these things, it's definitely a scam.'
There has been a rise in reports of individuals impersonating ICE agents amid a ramp up in arrests across the country which have added to existing fears of law enforcement in the migrant community. On June 5th, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained more than 2,200 people, according to a report by the NBC News, the most number of arrests in a single day.
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Last Updated: Shreya Bedi, an Indian student at Indiana University, was scammed by fake ICE agents into buying $5,000 in gift cards. She is now warning others and raising funds on GoFundMe. An Indian student in the US was scammed by fake Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to a Newsweek report. The student has been identified as Shreya Bedi, a Master's student at Indiana University Bloomington who came to the United States in 2022 on an F-1 visa. The scammers, posing as ICE agents, called her on May 29th, falsely claiming she'd violated immigration laws. They then coerced her into buying $5,000 worth of gift cards as 'bond" payments, threatening arrest and deportation if she didn't comply. 'He gave me his name and badge number and told me to verify his office details by going to and looking up the office in Maryland. I could confirm it was the same phone number he was calling from," Bedi said. She then received another call from someone claiming to be an Olympia Police Department officer, who warned her not to hang up as her phone was supposedly being monitored, and falsely informed her that there was an arrest warrant out for her. 'I felt completely trapped because they kept me on the phone for three hours straight, repeatedly warning me that hanging up or contacting anyone would violate my case and make things worse. I was too scared to risk it," said Bedi. According to Bedi, the scammers had access to all her personal information, including the Indian city she came from, how she entered the US and her academic records. 'They had so many of my personal details that only official agencies would know," she said. The scammers instructed her to purchase $5,000 worth of Apple and Target gift cards and share the codes with them, claiming a police officer would collect the cards and bond paper the next day – but they never followed up. 'They put me through hours of psychological torture, making me believe I was going to be deported and arrested," she added. Bedi is now facing a huge financial challenge as she is paying off student loans, and now she has $5000 in debt. 'I'm living alone in the U.S. with no family support. This money was supposed to help me stay afloat and plan my future here. It completely derailed my plans. This affects everything—my ability to save money, my timeline for either returning to India or applying for an H1B visa," she said. As an international student, she said it's challenging to navigate the US system, making them vulnerable to scams. 'I feel embarrassed that I fell for this, but I want others to learn from my mistake," she added. Bedi is currently trying to raise funds on GoFundMe and is warning other international students to be cautious. 'You always have the right to hang up and call a lawyer; government agencies rarely call you directly; they send official mail. No legitimate government agency will ever ask for gift cards, bank details, or your Social Security number over the phone. If someone asks for any of these things, it's a scam," she said. First Published: June 08, 2025, 14:36 IST
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