Shreya Bedi, a Master's student at Indiana University Bloomington, was deceived by scammers posing as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to a Newsweek report.
Bedi, who arrived in the US in 2022 on an F-1 visa, received a fraudulent call on May 29, 2025, claiming she had violated immigration laws. The scammers forced her into purchasing $5,000 worth of gift cards as a "bond" payment to avoid arrest and deportation.
Details of the incident
The scammers provided convincing details, including a name, badge number, and phone number matching ICE’s Maryland office listed on ice.gov.
A second call, purportedly from the Olympia Police Department, claimed an arrest warrant had been issued against Bedi.
She was kept on the phone for three hours and warned not to disconnect as her phone was allegedly monitored.
The scammers possessed extensive personal information, including details of her hometown in India, entry details to the US, and academic records, which heightened her trust in their legitimacy.
They instructed her to buy Apple and Target gift cards worth $5,000 and share the codes, promising a police officer would collect the cards and bond paperwork the next day, which didn't happen.
Financial and emotional toll
The scam left Bedi with a $5,000 debt, adding to her existing financial struggles as an international student with no family support in the US.
Already managing student loans, she described the loss as thwarting her plans to save money and pursue an H1B visa or return to India. “They put me through hours of psychological torture, making me believe I was going to be deported and arrested,” Bedi told Newsweek.
Bedi is now crowdfunding on GoFundMe to recover her losses and is urging other international students to be cautious.
She advises that legitimate government agencies never request payments via gift cards, bank details, or Social Security numbers over the phone, and typically communicate through official mail. “You always have the right to hang up and call a lawyer,” she emphasised. Bedi hopes her experience will educate others to avoid similar scams.
The incident comes amid a surge in ICE impersonation scams, fuelled by heightened fears within migrant communities.
