A Colorado law firm is raising the alarm on scams targeting immigrants, which have only grown in the last few months.

Immigrants in Colorado have had to keep up with several changes in immigration policy since President Donald Trump was sworn into office in January. A surge in scams is concerning, but not unexpected, according to Elevation Law Attorney William McNamara. Although reports of scams targeting immigrants were common during Trump’s first term in office, McNamara said he’s noticed a significant uptick since the start of the year.

“I’d been seeing that this was going around, and we also had been hearing from clients about more WhatsApp group scams where people are pretending to be from the government and saying they need a payment,” he said.

McNamara said recent Trump administration policies on immigration, such as the ones that have led people to receive notices that their parole has been terminated, have driven more people to act out of fear when contacted by scammers looking to take advantage of the political environment.

“There’s this feeling of being rushed to work on their status,” McNamara said.

The scams can take several forms with reliable telltale signs. Scammers typically impersonate attorneys, immigration enforcement officers and other officials. One common scam, according to Elevation Law, involves fake officers offering help with immigration paperwork.

After the victims are contacted through messaging apps or social media sites like WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram, they ask for payment via money transfer services like Western Union or Zelle in exchange for Zoom appointments with fake U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers.

McNamara said he had recently consulted a woman who was invited to a fake asylum interview over Zoom with scammers posing as immigration agents. What tipped her off to the scam was the fake agents’ request for a Zelle payment to an account in Colombia, and their use of face masks due to an alleged sickness — a likely excuse for hiding their identity.

“It’s kind of gross because they have the person walk through their asylum claim, which is traumatic and often very difficult, and then the catch is that they say, ‘OK, you’re approved, but you have to make this payment first,'” McNamara said. “She was just like, ‘No.’ She knew this was wrong.”

Just this scam alone already checks off several warning signs for identifying fraudulent services — one of the most telling being a false sense of urgency.

“One of the big tools scammers use is that they try to create this sense of urgency,” McNamara said. “Usually these things move slow enough where you should have time to talk to a lawyer or investigate it a little bit and not feel that pressure.”

Victims are often told they’ve been approved for an immigration benefit, but must pay quickly to secure it. Other scams involve fake notices from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offering “immigration pardons” for a fee, often sent via WhatsApp, according to Elevation Law.

These post-approval payment deadlines are hardly ever legitimate. No immigration benefit requires a fee after the approval has already been given, since all fees are paid before a decision with the exception of ICE bond payments.

If an officer or attorney is demanding payment as soon as possible, the client should always contact a lawyer before handing over any money to ensure the urgent deadline is real. Those seeking immigration services can also double-check that the lawyers they’re speaking to are verified by checking their bar number to verify credentials.

Immigration officials will also never contact people through their social media, McNamara said. While both agents and scammers might use email for their communication, real agents will have a “.gov” address, only link to government websites, and only share legal notices in English.

“The immigration court contacts people through the postal service, they don’t use WhatsApp to get in contact with people or to promote payment methods,” McNamara said.

Another sign that could warn residents of a potential scam is the method through which scammers collect payment. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services only accepts money orders, checks and credit card forms payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Any other payment form is always a scam, according to Elevation Law.

Government interviews and hearings are conducted either in person or on Webex, a secure video platform. These meetings will never be conducted over Zoom or WhatsApp — the platforms of choice for many scammers, McNamara said.

Those who suspect they may have been contacted by someone posing as an immigration agent or attorney can report the encounter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by visiting USCIS.gov/report-fraud/USCIS-tip-form.