Phone scams target college students
Posted on: 6/11/2015; Updated on: 6/12/2015By Staff editor
Over the last year, Columbia area residents—including several University of South Carolina students—have reported being contacted by would-be phone scammers. The Columbia Police Department recently issued a fraud alert in connection with these crimes.
The reported scams have some common traits:
- Scammers forge the phone numbers of trusted organizations, making it appear that the calls are coming from sources such as UofSC or the Richland County Sheriff’s Department
- Callers speak with foreign accents and claim that students owe money for tuition, back taxes or incorrectly filed taxes
- They demand money and personal information and threaten arrest if their demands are not met.
Similar scams are common nationwide and frequently target college students.
Students who receive a call of this nature should immediately hang up and call their local police department’s non-emergency phone number or UofSC police at 803-777-4215. Provide the police with the time of the call, the phone number that appeared in caller ID and a description of the topics discussed and demands made by the caller.
Columbia PD offers the following safety tips:
- If someone you don’t know asks for money over the phone, do NOT comply. Tell them not to call back.
- Do not engage in a lengthy conversation with the caller
- If the call back number is fake and part of a scam, contact the Federal Trade Commission
- If the calls continue, keep a detailed log of the times, topic and demands, then provide police with the information. This will aid in the investigation.
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