A U. of I. student was scammed out of $300 when attempting to purchase Tyler the Creator concert tickets. The student was contacted by an unknown individual on GroupMe purporting to be a University of Illinois student. After sending the money via Apple Cash, the unknown individual suspended all communications with the student.

A U. of I. student was targeted in an online dating scam. The student reported meeting a woman on an online dating website. Their conversation then moved to WhatsApp, where the woman agreed to meet up with the student and give him a back massage for $200. Once the student arrived at the meeting spot, […]

A U. of I. student was targeted in a phone scam by someone posing as an ICE officer, claiming that a fraudulent passport had been issued in her name. The scammer used number spoofing to make the call appear legitimate and instructed the student to verify the phone number online. Later, the student received another […]

A U. of I. student reported being the victim of an internet-based scam. The student was selling a prom dress on Facebook and received a message from an individual interested in purchasing the dress. The scammers claimed she needed to upgrade to a business account to complete a transaction, demanding $130 via PayPal and Zelle, […]

A woman reported being the victim of an internet-based scam. The woman intended to purchase a Dachshund puppy from a company in Nebraska and paid an $800 deposit through Venmo and ApplePay. She then was asked to pay over $2,000 across multiple transactions for the puppy, a flight, an insulated kennel, and mortality insurance. On […]

A U. of I. student fell victim to a fraud scam involving individuals posing as Chase Bank fraud protection employees. The scammers called her twice, claiming to address unauthorized transactions in Texas and asking her to verify her identity through pop-ups in the Chase app. They requested her PIN and email address, and she provided […]

A U. of I. student reported purchasing a monthly subscription she no longer wanted. The student searched the Apple customer support phone number online and clicked on the first one that appeared. The offender informed the student that she would have to send money in gift cards to receive a refund for the monthly subscription. […]

A man contacted U. of I. police to report that he was the victim of extortion. The man was contacted via Facebook Messenger by a female whose picture he had commented on previously. After exchanging explicit photos and videos, the offender told him she would share the images with his family and friends unless he […]

A U. of I. student contacted an individual on WhatsApp for assistance with locating sources for an assignment. Both parties agreed that each source would cost $30, and the student transferred $180 to the offender via the online banking platform Remitly for six sources. After transferring the funds, the student never received the sources and […]

A U. of I. student reported being the victim of an internet-based scam. The student was contacted via direct message on Instagram by an unknown account. The unknown user asked the student if they could use photos from his profile for an art project and told him he would be compensated. The student agreed and […]