An immigration attorney has a warning for her social media followers after her likeness has been used in new scams online.
Alma Rosa Nieto, an immigration attorney, has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram and more than 350,000 on Facebook. She said as of late, scammers have been using her photos and voice to target undocumented immigrants.
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WATCH HERE“People are using my image pictures that I use of myself, that I post on social media, acting as though they’re me asking for thousands of dollars, saying, ‘I can help you,’” she said.
Nieto said the scammers go through her follower list to reach out to unassuming victims. A woman named Cecilia, who opted not to share her last name, was one of the victims who was scammed.
“It was the exact same page with her photo and everything,” Cecilia said.
The victim recalled being messaged by a phony Nieto page that claimed they could help her with her residency. Cecilia said she was excited to get started on her case but instead was scammed out of $2,500.
“They told me through an email to send a payment,” Cecilia said.
U.S. & World
The scammers claimed to be an assistant at Nieto’s law office and instructed Cecilia to make two payments through Zelle using an email. She became suspicious after she was told to send a third payment, so she called Nieto’s office for the first time.
That’s when she learned there was no pending case under her name. It turns out that she was one of many people who fell for the scam.
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SIGN UP Nieto said her office will never ask for Zelle payments. She also advises the public to call her office to verify they are in communication with legitimate individuals.
