An unknown person contacted a U. of I. student through social media and encouraged him to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then threatened to send those photos to the student’s social media contacts unless he paid $1,200. The student sent $40, which was all that was available to him.

A U. of I. student reported that she was the victim of fraud after attempting to purchase a camera online. The student paid $677 to purchase the camera from a private vendor who listed the item for sale in an online marketplace. The camera never arrived, and the student later learned that the vendor had provided false tracking numbers. The vendor was unreachable after the student recognized the scam.

A U. of I. student reported that he was the victim of fraud after receiving a text from someone claiming to be an acquaintance and asking for money. The victim sent a total of $322.33 through several electronic transactions. When he later tried to contact the person, he found his phone number had been blocked. He then contacted his acquaintance and that person said he did not send the text.

An unknown person contacted a U. of I. student through social media and encouraged him to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then threatened to send those photos to the student’s social media contacts unless he paid $500. The student complied.

A U. of I. student reported that he was the victim of an internet-based scam between Feb. 19-22. The student was contacted via social media by someone purporting to be an artist offering money to use one of the student’s photos in a project. The scammer told the student that the client would send a $2,000 check to the student, and the student was to return a portion of that money to the scammer to pay for materials. The student paid $200 to the scammer before realizing that the check had bounced.