11/18/22
A U. of I. student reported Thursday that she was scammed out of $2,000. The student received a call from a person claiming to be a representative of the U.S. Postal Service who said the student’s identity had been stolen. The caller directed the student to purchase gift cards as payment for a new Social Security number. The student purchased the gift cards and transferred the card information to the caller.
A U. of I. employee reported that someone had damaged her car between 5-8 p.m. Wednesday while it was parked outside Campbell Hall, 300 N. Goodwin Ave., Urbana. A door handle was broken to gain entry. Nothing was removed from the vehicle. The estimated repair cost is $1,500.
A U. of I. student reported that a package had been stolen between 6:53 p.m. Wednesday and 3 a.m. Thursday after it was delivered to the mail area of her apartment in the 500 block of South First Street, Champaign. The retail value of the package is $93.
A U. of I. student reported Wednesday that she had been scammed out of $23,000. On Monday, the student received a series of calls from people claiming to represent the Chinese Embassy in Chicago who said the student would be arrested if she did not pay a fine. The student provided her passport information and wired the funds to the scammer.
On Saturday, a U. of I. student reported that his clothes had been stolen Oct. 29 from the laundry room at Orchard Downs, 1800 S. Orchard Drive, Urbana. The clothes, which have an estimated value of $80, were left unattended for about 12 hours.
On Nov. 10, a U. of I. student reported that the front door to her apartment had been damaged Nov. 2. The student was away from the apartment and returned to find a large crack in the door, causing the locking mechanism to be ineffective. There was no evidence inside the apartment that anyone had entered. The estimated cost to repair the door is $563.
A U. of I. student reported that his electric bicycle had been stolen between 6-10:30 p.m. Nov. 8 outside the Electrical and Computer Engineering building, 306 N. Wright St., Urbana. The bicycle, which has an estimated value of $800, was locked to a rack.*
*Bicycle owners can reduce the risk of theft. Resources on properly locking bicycles on campus can be found on the Campus Recreation website’s Bike Parking page.
Please note: Those arrested are presumed innocent until proved guilty, and formal charges may change as cases are adjudicated. For more information about the incidents listed here, please contact the U. of I. Police Department at 217-333-1216 or .