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.

• 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.

• 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 instructed the student to send $1,000 under threat of sending the video to the student’s social media contacts.

• Fake bossSeptember 13, 2023

  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 transactions, one through a mobile payment app and the other through a wire transfer. The student was then directed to attempt to pry open the business’ safe and send money from it. She was stopped by a coworker.

• Fake free computerSeptember 13, 2023

  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 student sent. The student never heard anything further about the computer or shipping.

• Fake buyerSeptember 9, 2023

  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 funds for the shoes. The student sent the $200. The fake buyer then asked for $400 in gift cards in two subsequent requests, which the student sent. The student contacted police after sending the emails to Venmo, which confirmed that the messages were fake and the student had been the victim of a scam.

• Tuition discount scamAugust 16, 2023

  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, her $30,000 tuition bill would be paid. After the student paid the $26,800 fee via wire transfer, the tuition initially appeared to be paid. After a few days, however, the student’s account balances reverted to the original amounts.

• Fake computer virusJuly 20, 2023

  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 from a local retail store and provide the card information over the phone. The employee did so, and then reported the scam to police when she was directed to purchase more gift cards.

• Sexual extortionJuly 17, 2023

  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 paid money.

• Sexual extortionJune 28, 2023

  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 media. The student has not responded to further phone calls and messages from the offender.