A U. of I. student listed a set of vehicle rims for sale on an online marketplace and received a message from a person who claimed to be interested in purchasing them. The student then received a call from someone claiming to be a representative of the online payment application who said that the student had to pay $500 to release the payment from the prospective buyer. The student did so, but did not receive any return payment.

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.

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.

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.

Seeking help for an upcoming exam, the student requested tutoring services through a website. An unknown person responded to her request and asked for personal information, including passwords to her university accounts and remote access to her computer. On the day of the computer-based exam, the scammer took control of the student’s computer and threatened to expose her for cheating if she did not send money. The student reported that she paid $6,189 and asked a friend to send additional money, making the total around $12,000.