arindamom Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 My husband was scammed by someone giving them 8000 USD. They had all our information (work/home address etc). He was told that some registration number was not entered, because of which they said he will be sent back to India and our baby will be sent to foster care. He got scared/panicked and answered all the question and was convinced to transfer $8000 through the Money PaK cards to some guy. Later we came to know this was all a scam and he has already reported to Federal Trade Commission. We are clueless about what to do next. Should we talk to the Lawyer or directly go to the Police etc. We need your guidance, please help. Link to comment
jairichi Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 My husband was scammed by someone giving them 8000 USD. They had all our information (work/home address etc). He was told that some registration number was not entered, because of which they said he will be sent back to India and our baby will be sent to foster care. He got scared/panicked and answered all the question and was convinced to transfer $8000 through the Money PaK cards to some guy. Later we came to know this was all a scam and he has already reported to Federal Trade Commission. We are clueless about what to do next. Should we talk to the Lawyer or directly go to the Police etc. We need your guidance, please help. Talk to a lawyer. Link to comment
JoeF Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 File a police report. Link to comment
pontevecchio Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Go to the local police precinct and report the matter. What will a Lawyer do? nothing. He will also expect to be paid. Identity theft is very much a possibility and you can go through the FICO forums for more information. Link to comment
arindamom Posted February 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thanks Jairichi. That is what we are going to do..... I only wanted to know whether we should go to the police first??? Like we do in India, we first file an FIR and then go about looking for lawyers. What is the process here? Link to comment
catx Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 This a police and law enforcement matter for criminal fraud. You need to start by contacting the police and filing a fraud complaint to initiate an investigation. The police may 'escalate' the matter to other agencies such as the FBI, especially if it is across state lines. You would only need a lawyer in this situation if the person or persons who committed the fraud (stole your money) were identified and caught, and you wanted to pursue a civil case, i.e. law suit, against them to get your money back. Otherwise, with all due respect to attorneys, your own lawyer will not be able to do much of anything at this point. Link to comment
pontevecchio Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 I repeat that a Lawyer is not of any use in your circumstances. Link to comment
JoeF Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 File a police report. A lawyer can't do anything. Link to comment
jairichi Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thanks Jairichi. That is what we are going to do..... I only wanted to know whether we should go to the police first??? Like we do in India, we first file an FIR and then go about looking for lawyers. What is the process here? It makes absolute sense to file a police report too. Go ahead with that as you can just walk in to a police station to file a complaint. Link to comment
t75 Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Criminal offenses are filed by government attorneys (DAs is the typical title) based on police information. You need an attorney if the action is against you but not if it is on your behalf. Civil actions require you to obtain an attorney. This sounds like a criminal action that, unfortunately, will get little attention due to more violent crimes. However, file a police report; there may be others in similar situations which makes prosecution easier. It also calls to question your husband's actions that would cause him to so fear the threat. Normally in the US, someone with nothing to hide would have called the police immediately. Link to comment
catx Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Further to the consistent advise posted by others and myself, in addition to filing a fraud complaint with the police -- the USCIS web site has a dedicated web page on how and where to "Report Immigration Scams" (http://www.uscis.gov/avoid-scams/report-immigration-scams). This USCIS web page includes a link to the Federal Trade Commission and a list with links to applicable laws and "Where to Report" by state. For most of the states this is the Attorney General. (I 'Googled' "USCIS fraud complaint" and this was the first page returned in the listing.) The USCIS takes immigration scams, such as the one you were a victim of, very seriously. Again, do not worry about contacting a private lawyer. Follow the direct, explicit advice from the USCIS (on their "Report Immigration Scams" web page) and the above posts in this forum topic. Link to comment
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