Phone and internet scams are common no matter where you are. Be aware of how to identify scams and what to do if you encounter one.

In these scams and many others that have occurred over the years, the scammers tend to target international students. Often, there are language or cultural barriers that make international students more susceptible.

Here are the red flags to keep in mind when you receive a call from an unknown person:

• No government official will ever demand money over the phone. If someone claims to be a police officer, immigration official, a tax agent, or any other government representative demanding money, the call is likely a scam.
• Scammers try to intimidate victims with empty threats of arrest or deportation. If a caller threatens to have you arrested if you hang up, the call is likely a scam.
• Often, scammers will demand payment in the form of something other than cash. If a caller directs you to purchase gift cards or transfer payment in the form of virtual currency, the call is likely a scam.
• Sometimes, scammers will direct you to visit a series of banks to withdraw cash. Scammers know that withdrawing large amounts of cash raises red flags for bank employees, so they will direct the victim to visit a number of banks to withdraw smaller amounts.
• Scammers often “spoof” phone numbers of legitimate agencies. Number “spoofing” makes the victim’s caller ID display a legitimate phone number even though the call is originating from somewhere entirely different. If you have doubts about a caller’s identity, you should hang up and call the listed number for that agency to speak to a representative.

If you encounter any of these red flags, hang up immediately and call police. The 24-hour non-emergency number for the University of Illinois Police Department is 217-333-1216, or you can email us at police@illinois.edu.

Scam log

These scams have been reported to the University of Illinois Police Department. We post them here so you can be better informed about what to watch out for.

• ThreatsNovember 30, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that she received text messages from an unknown person who claimed that they had been hired to harm her. The unknown person sent the student a picture that the student previously had posted on social media, presumably in an attempt to legitimize the threat. The unknown person also sent a video of other people being harmed and said the student would need to pay $4,000 to call off the threat. The student did not pay and blocked the number.

• Fake Customs agentNovember 22, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that she was contacted by a person who claimed to be a Chinese Customs agent and that the student was implicated in a criminal conspiracy. The student was directed to create fake emails to disseminate to other people, and also to download applications on her electronic devices that would monitor her actions. She was directed to wire nearly $100,000 to a third party to avoid prosecution. The scam took place in multiple contacts over the course of about two months.

• Fake Customs investigationNovember 14, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that he received a phone call in August from someone claiming that a package the student allegedly sent to China was stopped at Customs and was found to contain fake passports and credit cards. The student never sent a package. He was transferred to a second person claiming to be a Chinese police officer, who instructed the student to keep his webcam on at all times so that an investigations agent could keep track of him under threat of arrest and deportation. A series of calls occurred in September and October, during which the student was shown images of people he was told were co-conspirators in the crime, and the student was ordered to wire $115,000 to a third party to pay for bail. After doing so, the student called the Chinese Embassy, which told the student that there was no record of the allegations and the situation was a scam.

• Sexual extortionNovember 5, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that she engaged in conversation with another person through an app described as “highly sexual in nature.” The conversation moved to Instagram, where intimate photos were exchanged. The offender then threatened to send the student’s photos for her social media contacts unless the student paid money. The student attempted to pay, but the transaction was declined. She then contacted police when the threats continued.

• Fake watch offerOctober 18, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that he attempted to purchase a watch being offered for sale through the OfferUp app. The student used a banking app to pay the initial asking price of $350, and then the purported seller continued to demand more money to cover shipping costs. The seller then sent false shipping tracking information and demanding another payment. The student ended communication and contacted police. By this time, he had paid a total of $489 in six separate transactions.

• Sexual extortionOctober 17, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that he met another person through a dating app, and the online conversation resulted in the student sending the other person intimate photos and his phone number. The offender then text messaged the student with a threat to send the photos to the student’s social media contacts if the student did not pay money. The student did not pay, and the conversation ended.

• Fake concert ticketOctober 9, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that she attempted to purchase a ticket being offered for sale through the social media app GroupMe. The student paid $100 for the ticket via a mobile banking app, and later called police when she noticed that the same person was continuing to sell the same concert ticket on social media.

• Sexual extortionOctober 4, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that he was the victim of sexual extortion in 2021, when an unknown person obtained intimate images of the student and threatened to post them to social media unless the student paid money. On Oct. 4, 2023, the same person contacted the student again to repeat the threat and demand money.

• Sexual extortionSeptember 25, 2023

  A U. of I. student reported that he entered a video chat with an unknown person after matching with them on a dating app named Bumble. The unknown person encouraged the student to engage in intimate acts during the video chat. After the chat ended, the unknown person demanded money under the threat of sending the video to the student’s social media contacts. The student did not send any money and blocked the account. The unknown person called the student repeatedly over the course of 30 minutes.

• Sexual extortionSeptember 21, 2023

  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 demanded money under threat of sending the video to the student’s social media contacts. The student did not pay and blocked the account.