There has been a recent increase in scams targeting the Colorado State University community, according to the CSU Public Safety Team.
Some of these scams include deportation threats to international students, calls from someone claiming to be law enforcement and emails offering jobs from what looks like someone from the CSU community.
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There are four identifying traits these scammers use, according to the Public Safety Team. If you are contacted by someone who tries to intimidate you with fear or pressure, threatens to harm or embarrass you and others, requests money or financial information or offers you a job, they are likely a scammer.
In addition, students should look out for any type of contact that seems out of the ordinary.
“Many times a scammer will ‘spoof’ a phone number, and it appears that the call is from a government agency or another local or United States number,” wrote Colorado State University Police Department Chief Scott Harris in the email.
Students are advised by the Public Safety Team to protect their personal information, never provide their social security number, never send money through apps to someone they do not know, and never contact numbers that called them in the past claiming to be law enforcement.
Scammers have many ways to hide from unsuspecting students, according to the Public Safety Team. This can include creating authentic looking websites or social media accounts. Additionally, scammers can also look at students’ social media accounts or other information available online to gather details that make them appear credible.
If you or someone you know is being targeted by a scammer, you can report it to these websites: https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds#item-35157 or https://www.fightidentitytheft.com/how-to-report-scams.html.
If you know that you have been scammed, the Public Safety Team asks students to report it to local police as soon as possible. If you are able, keep evidence of the interactions, such as emails, text messages, receipts, bank statements and any other evidence that may help the police.
Olivia Amragno. can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @OAmragno.
