A U. of I. student reported attempting to buy a $600 iPhone 15 Pro Max he found on Facebook Marketplace. He contacted the seller and agreed to send the money through PayPal. The seller provided a tracking number that did not work, and the iPhone never arrived. The student could no longer make contact with […]

A University of Illinois student reported being contacted by someone claiming to be from ITALK-BB phone company, who said her information was used to open a phone line in China involved in a scam. She was then connected to supposed Chinese authorities, who accused her of involvement in a scam that defrauded people out of […]

A woman reported receiving a message from an unknown person on Instagram asking her to be a muse for an art project. After agreeing, she received a text message from the scammer telling her she would receive $2,500 but requested $500 for supplies. When she refused, the scammer emailed her a $400 check and asked […]

A U. of I. student reported being the victim of an internet-based scam in April. The student was contacted via the chat feature on the website Deviant Art by someone purporting to be an artist who wanted to use one of the student’s drawings as inspiration in exchange for credit and compensation. After allowing his […]

A U. of I. student used Facebook to sell a mobile phone and was contacted by an interested buyer. The two met up to complete the transaction, and the buyer drove away with the phone before the student realized that he had been paid with counterfeit money.

A U. of I. student reported that he received several phone calls and text messages from an unknown person who was threatening to harm the student’s family members unless the student sent money. The student used Zelle to send $3,000 in two transactions to an unknown person. The scammer demanded even more money to “cancel […]

An Illinois student reported that she was seeking an apartment sublease near her summer internship in Madison, Wisconsin, and sent a text message to an unknown person advertising an apartment on Craigslist. The advertiser asked the student to complete an application and send it back with a copy of her driver’s license. The advertiser then […]

An employee of a hotel on campus reported that she received a call at the front desk from an unknown person who claimed that she had a warrant for her arrest and that she needed to pay $900 to clear her name. The employee provided personal information to the caller before recognizing the scam and […]

On January 21, a U. of I. student answered a Facebook advertisement for an apartment sublease and paid $550 for the application fee and security deposit. When the student asked to see the apartment, the supposed property owner asked for more money. The student attempted on March 4 to transfer the money as directed to […]

A U. of I. student reported that an unknown person sent him a friend request on Instagram and initiated a private conversation, during which the unknown person encouraged the student to send intimate photos of himself. After the photo was sent, the unknown person demanded that the student use a mobile app to send $400 […]