It was the afternoon of Friday. I was at home with my wife and the two grandsons. My son and daughter-in-law were away to work. We had had lunch and were having a chat with the kids when the landline phone rang. My younger grandson, 7 years old, picked up the phone and responded. Then he handed over the phone to me saying that it was probably for his mom. When I responded, the caller on the other side announced that he was calling from the immigration department of the government of USA and gave me his name and id number. He asked whether Mrs. Upadhyaya was available. Thinking that he wanted to talk to my daughter-in-law, I told him that she was away to her office. He inquired who I was and I gave him my name and relationship to the intended recipient. He asked me to spell out my first name and I did that. He then announced that this was about serious issues with the recent immigration checks of my wife and me. I asked him about the issue and he informed that even though requested to do so, we had failed to submit form I-94 even after so many days of entering the USA.
Now this fellow was speaking in an impeccable American accent and there were appropriate background noises too suggesting that he was in an office. He had identified himself with all the details and was addressing me as Sir as they normally do when interacting with a citizen (/visitor.) Though, the tone and tenor was quite officious. So this had me rattled. I could recall that a certain form, other than the customs declaration form was earlier being obtained from visitors but it had been discontinued year before last. And it was form I-94. However being rattled, I thought it must have been some other form. I told him that no one had asked me to submit any form. He said that a notice had been sent out too. I protested saying that I had not received any notice. He then read out an address in the Eastern part of USA and asked me to confirm that this was my address. I said that there has been some mistake and that I was in the city of Cupertino in California. Even in that rattled state I avoided giving him the street address. Then he expressed surprise and added that after my file was opened for this violation another serious criminal matter related to my id has come up and they are in the process of getting an arrest warrant issued for me. When I expressed my astonishment, he said that he was not able to make out what I said and asked about the languages that I speak. When told that I spoke Hindi and English, he asked me to wait while he handed over the call to an interpreter.
Next one Rakesh Patel came online and after properly introducing himself, he asked me in Hindi which Indian Language would I prefer. I said Hindi and he said that my voice was breaking up and inquired if I had a cell phone. This must have been the first step towards the identity theft. My son had given me a prepaid connection, and I gave him the number. Then he asked me to wait for a call on the cell phone which materialized pretty soon. After repeating the charge of non-submission of form I-94, he said that my identity had been misused for withdrawing money from an account in Bank of America and that the money was remitted to Pakistan presumably for terrorist activities. Then he gave me a Muslim and a Christian name and asked me if I knew any or both of them (I forget the names but would refer to them as Khan and John in later paragraphs.) He said that the Muslim person was a Pakistani and had used my identity to perpetrate the crime. Then he asked if I could explain how could the fraudster get my identification details? I politely told him that the question was directed at the wrong person and they should be asking the perpetrator of the fraud. He asked me if I had an USA id. This gave rise to some suspicion in my mind. How could they be leveling this charge unless they knew about what id I had? If they were from Immigration department they should know my passport number and my nationality. But being under psychological pressure I didn't question him and played along. He asked me what ids I had. I responded I had my passport. Then he asked if I had an US driving license to which I replied in the negative. This slightly added to the suspicion.
Next, the purported Mr Patel said that there was some legal procedure to be completed and that he would be handing me back to the immigration officer. He also counselled me to be polite them as they were the officers handling my case.
The earlier fellow came online and announced his name and id number once again. He next informed me that the next part of the conversation will be recorded and whatever I said could be used against me in a court of law. He advised me to be truthful. The questions went like this. Did I know Khan and John? How could they get hold of my id? Did I ever use my id to open a bank account in USA? Did I have an account with Bank of America or any other bank in America? What ids did I have with me? The last question startled me. For if he asked me about my passport details, I must decline as this was a sensitive information. How could I do so without offending him? Also when I told him that I had no bank accounts in USA, he had asked me to hold the line while he consulted his senior. I could hear him saying, "He does not have any bank accounts in America." I could not make out the response of the other person.
Luckily he did not ask any details of passport or Indian driving license and spared me the torment of evading the question. He instead informed me that a warrant had already been issued in my name: well, things do move fast in USA! He said that it being a Friday I had very little time to pay a bond amount of USD 1978 and avoid an arrest. He said that I will have to come over and sign the bond and deposit the amount. Then he added that the bond amount was refundable and if I was found not guilty it would be refunded. Next he asked if I knew the immigration office closest to my residence. When I replied in the negative he said further details will be provided by the interpreter.
Mr Patel duly came online, identified himself, and painted a very bleak picture before me. He said that unless I could post the bond within two hours, I may have to spend time in prison and this would put paid to any further visits by me to USA. The suspicion in my mind was gradually turning into a certainty. I requested Patel to advise me the address so I could call my son to drive down to the address and post the bail. He said it was an extremely serious matter and no third person should associate with it. He said that if my son's name figured in the proceedings he could lose his job too. Now I said, a little boldly, "I have heard about the great justice system in USA. How could my son lose his job if the crime has been supposedly committed by me and not him?" He said there was no time to explain and asked me if I had the bail amount at hand in cash. Now the hardened suspicion was turning into a certainty. I told him that I did not have a single dollar and that my son would have to drive me to the address given by him and there was no other option. Patel asked me in a surprised tone that how could I possibly be here and not have even USD 1000 in cash? Surprise! He did not say 1978! Probably he could also sense the change in my tone by now. So he said, "OK, in that case I will hand you back to the immigration officer. Please talk here." And the call got disconnected. And it was only now after disconnection that I noticed that the call was from an Unknown Number!
But dear reader, the biggest surprise was yet to come.
My two grandsons had been watching me and listening to my part of the conversation with great attention and concern. The elder one had also started video recording the call without my noticing it and he showed me the video later on. After I put down the phone, my elder grandson said, "Dadu, you should not have told them which city you are in." When I said that I thought they were government officials, he said, "In that case you should have checked back." I asked him how and this is what he said, "You should have challenged him to give you your passport number and date of birth to prove that he was from the immigration department and declined to tell your name or city till he had proved his identity!" This came from an 11 year old! When I asked him how did this occur to him, he deprecatingly said that he had seen something similar in a TV serial here. Later my son also told me that all government communications are in the form of letters delivered by USPS and never through a telephone call. Citizens, of course, could call a department in case of need. And if at all there were to be a call from a department, it would never be from an unknown number.
My grandson also showed me the video clip where he had succeeded in capturing the sound from the other side too because of high volume and his proximity to me. He next advised me to call 911 (Police) and inform them this of this attempt to perpetrate a fraud. We chose not to do that.
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