A U. of I. student reported that he was invited to chat on Instagram by an unknown person. The conversation became sexual in nature, and the unknown person invited the student into a video chat to perform intimate acts. When the video chat ended, the unknown person instructed the student to send $1,000 under threat […]

A U. of I. student reported that he attempted to purchase an iPhone being offered for $500 on the OfferUp app. The student contacted the seller and ultimately paid for the phone using a mobile banking app, but the phone was never shipped.

A U. of I. student was at work and received a phone call from a person purporting to be the business owner. The fake owner said that the student was expecting a package and needed to pay costs associated with it. The fake owner requested that the student send a total of $1,140 in two […]

A U. of I. student reported that she contacted an unknown person on Facebook after seeing an ad that the person was offering a free laptop computer to anyone who paid the shipping costs. The student sent $62 via an online payment app for shipping. The scammer indicated that she needed another $50, which the […]

A U. of I. student reported that he attempted to sell a pair of shoes on Instagram and received a message from an unknown person who purported that they were interested in buying the shoes. The faker buyer claimed she needed $200 to pay a Venmo fee so that she could proceed with sending the […]

A U. of I. student reported that she was contacted via social media platform WeChat by a person who said that they ran a service which could provide a discount on the student’s tuition. The scammer directed the student to provide access to her university accounts, and also pay $26,800 to the scammer. In return, […]

A U. of I. employee reported that she received an alert on her computer that it had a virus. The message instructed her to call a phone number to speak with an information technology representative. That representative asked for the employee’s personal information, which she provided. He then directed her to purchase a gift card […]

A U. of I. student reported that he had been the victim of a sexual extortion scam. The student accepted a friend request from an Instagram user with whom he was not familiar. The user encouraged the student to send intimate photos of himself, and then threatened to post those photos publicly unless the student […]

A U. of I. student reported that he was the victim of sexual extortion. About a month prior, an unknown person initiated a private conversation with the student through social media. The offender encouraged the student to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then began threatening the student and posting the photos on social […]

A U. of I. student received a call from someone purporting to be an “ambassador” from Chicago, who said that the student was under police investigation for international money laundering. The student was interrogated by the scammer for several hours, during which she was prompted to disclose personal and financial information. The student was instructed […]