A U. of I. student reported that he was the victim of fraud after receiving a text from someone claiming to be an acquaintance and asking for money. The victim sent a total of $322.33 through several electronic transactions. When he later tried to contact the person, he found his phone number had been blocked. […]

An unknown person contacted a U. of I. student through social media and encouraged him to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then threatened to send those photos to the student’s social media contacts unless he paid $500. The student complied.

A U. of I. student reported that he was the victim of an internet-based scam between Feb. 19-22. The student was contacted via social media by someone purporting to be an artist offering money to use one of the student’s photos in a project. The scammer told the student that the client would send a […]

An unknown person sent a U. of I. employee a text message suggesting that the employee’s credit card had been compromised. Upon calling the provided phone number, the employee was instructed to transfer all of the money in his checking account to a new account. The employee authorized the transfer of $5,017 into an unknown […]

A U. of I. student reported that he had been the victim of an ongoing extortion scam between December 2021 and Feb. 17. After communicating with an unknown person through a dating app, the purported father of that unknown person called the student to say that the student had been communicating with a minor. The […]

An unknown person contacted a U. of I. student through social media and encouraged him to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then threatened to send those photos to the student’s social media contacts unless he paid $500. The student complied.

An unknown person contacted a U. of I. student through a dating app and encouraged him to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then threatened to send those photos to the student’s social media contacts unless he paid $5,000. The student did not pay and contacted police.

An unknown person contacted a U. of I. student through social media and encouraged him to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then threatened to send those photos to the student’s social media contacts unless he paid $2,000. The student did not pay and contacted police

A U. of I. student sent intimate photos of himself to an unknown person whom he met online. The offender then demanded a $100 payment or else the photos would be shared with the student’s social media contacts. The student complied with the demand and then blocked the offender.

A U. of I. student received a call from an unknown person who claimed that the student was wanted on a Chinese arrest warrant related to international money laundering. Several subsequent callers made demands for money, claiming that payment would resolve the matter. The student complied each time. In total, the student was defrauded of […]