A U. of I. student reported that he had been the victim of a scam on Feb. 22. An unknown person sent the student a social media message that stated the student was eligible to receive $5,000 if he first sent $30 to the unknown person via an electronic transfer. The student did so, and then received three subsequent messages that he needed to send additional money to unfreeze the $5,000 he was promised. The student paid each time, ultimately losing $1,230 before reporting the scam to police.

A U. of I. employee reported that she had been the victim of fraud. The employee received a pop-up notification on her personally owned computer indicating that the device had been locked and she needed to call a helpline to resolve the issue. The call-taker instructed the employee to visit a cryptocurrency terminal at a liquor store in Urbana and transfer funds to an unknown account. The employee transferred $28,500 in bitcoins before contacting police.

A U. of I. student reported that he was the victim of extortion. The student exchanged private social media messages with an unknown person, who eventually requested that the student send a lewd photo of himself. Upon receiving the photo, the unknown person threatened to send the photo to the student’s social media followers unless the student paid money to the unknown offender. The student ended the communication and reported the incident to police. No money was exchanged.

A U. of I. student reported that she had received multiple unwanted phone calls and text messages from an unknown person over the weekend. The caller demanded access to the student’s social media contacts and threatened to harm the student if she refused to comply.

Two U. of I. students reported that they had received an email from an unknown person advertising a work-from-home job. The email included a link to a form that requested more information from the students, like home address, phone numbers and other personal information. The students completed the forms. No money was exchanged, but it is believed that the scammer obtained personal information.