RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Scams apparently involving fake Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents have left some people in the Triangle on edge and fearful on social media.
In the most recent case, Raleigh Police said officers were called to the Motel 6 off Capital Boulevard on Sunday. When officers spoke to a woman there, she told them a man had brutally kidnapped and raped her, all while threatening her and pretending to be a law enforcement officer.
According to warrants, 37-year-old Carl Thomas Bennett threatened to deport the victim if she didn't have sex with him and showed a business card with a badge on it. He's now facing multiple charges including kidnapping, second-degree rape, and impersonating a law enforcement officer.
The group Siembra NC said it is worried that the current political climate makes these kinds of situations more common.
"Right now we have this perfect storm where people are in a high degree of panic, people are thinking that ICE agents are everywhere," said co-director Nikki Marin Baena.
ALSO SEE | Immigration officers say 'the worst go first,' but now there's no 'free pass'
It's not the only false alarm.
In Durham last week, what looked like an ICE truck at the Compare Foods grocery store in a Hispanic neighborhood on Avondale Drive turned out to be a hoax, but it prompted fear among those with questionable residency status and their advocates.
The store filed a police report, and Durham Police told ABC11 that the driver would not be facing any charges.
In a statement, Durham Police say "While it is certainly in poor taste, the vehicle's decals do not reference ICE and this case does not meet the elements needed to criminally charge the driver with impersonating a law enforcement officer."
ABC11 reached out to the driver for comment but has not heard back.
Siembra NC said it has gotten more than 200 calls recently of reports of seeing ICE in North Carolina that can't always be proven. Siembra said it's training people on their rights if they come across real ICE agents.
"If you think that there's someone approaching you who is an ICE agent, you do not have to talk to them. You do not have to open the door. You do not have to step out of your car until they show you a judicial warrant that was signed by a judge," Marin Baena said.
READ MORE: Full coverage of immigration issues