A man reported receiving an email from what appeared to be U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stating he failed to report a change of address and threatened him with arrest, deportation and fines. After contacting the "USCIS Helpline," the individual provided the scammer with two forms of identification and received repeated phone calls from an unknown individual purporting to be an immigration agent. The scammer demanded he purchase Target gift cards in the amount of $375 to avoid criminal and financial consequences. The individual purchased 12 gift cards totaling $4,500 to be transferred to the scammer. Police were contacted, [...]

At the beginning of the year, a University of Illinois student sought a summer sublet in New York and received a message from someone on Reddit claiming to have an available apartment. After switching to text messages, the scammer emailed a sublet agreement, and the student paid a $1,200 deposit through CashApp. Upon arriving in New York, the landlord contacted the student about a package delivered to the apartment, revealing that the individual he was subletting from had been evicted and had been running this scam for some time. The student contacted police, and the scammer eventually refunded the student's [...]

A U. of I. student reported receiving an email advertising a job opportunity as an administrative assistant. After exchanging texts with the scammer, the student received two checks for $500 and deposited them into her account. The scammer then requested proof of the deposit and directed the student to send $1,000 via Apple Pay to an "orphanage" for urgently needed supplies. The student complied but grew suspicious and contacted Chase Bank, which informed her the checks were fake. The student ended communication with the scammer and contacted police.

A U. of I. student reported attempting to buy a $600 iPhone 15 Pro Max he found on Facebook Marketplace. He contacted the seller and agreed to send the money through PayPal. The seller provided a tracking number that did not work, and the iPhone never arrived. The student could no longer make contact with the seller and contacted police.

A University of Illinois student reported being contacted by someone claiming to be from ITALK-BB phone company, who said her information was used to open a phone line in China involved in a scam. She was then connected to supposed Chinese authorities, who accused her of involvement in a scam that defrauded people out of seven million yen (about one million U.S. dollars) and resulted in a death. They claimed an arrest warrant was issued, showed her a photo of herself and knew her Chinese ID or passport number. During the video "interrogation," the student gave the scammers most of [...]