'Now could you just give me all of your personal information -- for your own protection, of course?'

Homeland Security hotline number used in phone scam. A fraud alert has been issued by the Homeland Security Department’s Office of Inspector General after scammers altered caller ID systems to make it appear they were calling from an official phone number. The callers claimed to be from “U.S. Immigration,” told victims they had been affected by identity theft, and then asked victims to provide or confirm personal information. The calls were made to appear as if they were coming from the hotline number for Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, 1-800-323-8603. (The office is the department’s independent oversight arm, and the hotline is used to receive calls about fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement.) “This came to our attention from individuals who had actually been victims of this scam,” said the office’s Diana Shaw. She said the hotline received a flood of calls in mid-March, with the callers asking why they had been contacted and asked personal questions. People throughout the country were targeted.WTOP