A U. of I. student reported that a caller threatened the student with deportation and then instructed her to send $2,950 through a mobile banking app to several unknown accounts. After those transactions were completed, the student received a second call instructing her to purchase $1,000 worth of gift cards at a local retailer and transfer the card information to another person. The student completed the purchase and the transfer of card information.

A U. of I. student reported that he received a text message from an unknown person purporting to be the student’s employer who instructed him to purchase $2,000 worth of gift cards at a local retailer and reply to the text message with the card information. The student complied. By the time the student recognized the scam, the gift cards had been redeemed by an unknown person.

A U. of I. student reported that he attempted to purchase graduation tickets from an unknown person whom the student met through social media. The student attempted five times to transfer $30 to the unknown person through a mobile banking app. Each time, the student received a text message stating that the transaction failed. The student then sent $29 through a different banking app, but never heard from the purported seller and never received the tickets. The student later learned that the phone number from which he was receiving the failed transaction messages is not owned by the banking app. [...]