Fake police
A U. of I. student received a call from a person purporting to be a local police officer who said the student was implicated in illegal activity and needed to pay $950 to avoid being arrested. The student purchased gift cards and transferred the card information to the caller as payment.
Five ways UIPD is maintaining Halloween weekend safety
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Illinois – The University of Illinois Police Department is making preparations to keep students and community members safe so they can enjoy the Halloween weekend without any unwanted scares. Halloween and the weekend preceding it tends to bring an increase in activity at Campustown bars and off-campus house parties. That in itself is not a problem – but some of the alcohol-fueled activity puts people in danger when they become too intoxicated to care for themselves or when the alcohol contributes to unsafe decisions. “We want our students to be able to socialize and enjoy their free time, but [...]
Sexual extortion
A U. of I. student engaged in a video call with a person he believed to be an intimate partner, but later learned that person had lied about their identity. During the video call, the offender had recorded an intimate video of the student without consent and sent it to several of the student’s social media contacts. The offender then demanded $400. The student refused payment and blocked the offender on social media.
Fake police
A U. of I. student received a text message from a person purporting to be Chinese police who said that the student’s passport was implicated in illegal activity. The scammer told the student she needed to pay the police to avoid prosecution, and the student transferred $315,903 to an unknown account via a mobile banking app.
Prevention work under way to address bike, scooter thefts
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Illinois — The popularity of electric scooters and bikes has accelerated in the last few months, and University of Illinois Police have seen a corresponding increase in the number of those devices being reported stolen. Meanwhile, conventional bicycles continue to be a target for thieves, especially when they are locked only with a cable lock. University Police are taking steps to address the increase in thefts — they have already made four arrests and have identified at least two more people of interest in a series of incidents. That investigative work, in concert with the redeployment of anti-theft bikes, [...]