An employee of a hotel on campus reported that she received a call at the front desk from an unknown person who claimed that she had a warrant for her arrest and that she needed to pay $900 to clear her name. The employee provided personal information to the caller before recognizing the scam and contacting police.

On January 21, a U. of I. student answered a Facebook advertisement for an apartment sublease and paid $550 for the application fee and security deposit. When the student asked to see the apartment, the supposed property owner asked for more money. The student attempted on March 4 to transfer the money as directed to a third party using the Zelle mobile app, but the transaction was declined. At that point, the student determined it was a scam and contacted police.

A U. of I. student reported that an unknown person sent him a friend request on Instagram and initiated a private conversation, during which the unknown person encouraged the student to send intimate photos of himself. After the photo was sent, the unknown person demanded that the student use a mobile app to send $400 under threat of publicly posting the photo. The student complied. The unknown person continued sending threatening messages demanding more money. The student did not respond to the follow-up messages.

A U. of I. student reported that he had received an email advertising a job opportunity with a university professor. The email directed the student to text an unknown number, which he did. The scammer asked the student to send $200 via electronic transfer of the student's own money to a third party, promising that the student would be reimbursed. The student was then sent a check for $1,875 via email and asked to deposit the money, at which point he became suspicious and ended communication with the scammer.

A U. of I. student reported that he was contacted via Instagram by an unknown person, who then suggested they move the conversation to Snapchat. The student was encouraged to send intimate photos of himself to the unknown person, who then took screenshots of the images and threatened to send them to the student's social media contacts unless he paid money via electronic transfer. Several transactions were declined, but a transaction for $250 was completed.