A U. of I. student reported that he befriended an unknown person through Instagram who got him interested in an investment plan involving cryptocurrency. The student transferred as much as $40,000 to the fake account over the course of several months. When he asked to withdraw the money, the person facilitating the investments cut off communication.

A U. of I. student reported that he was experiencing issues with his Apple AirPods and Googled the customer support number. The student called the number and spoke with an individual purporting to be a customer service representative. The representative ultimately told the student that all his Apple devices had been hacked and transferred him to another person who said he was a bank representative who would help him protect his financial data. The bank representative told him there was criminal activity on his account, and that the student had to transfer $2,900 in the form of BitCoin to a [...]

A U. of I. student reported that someone purporting to be another U. of I. student in a GroupMe chat offered concert tickets for sale. The purchaser asked for confirmation of the seller's identity, and the seller offered a photo of herself holding her student identification. The purchaser sent $450 to the seller via Zelle, and the seller subsequently cut off communication. It was later determined that the student who was implicated as the seller had herself been involved in a similar scam, during which the student sent the scammer a photo of herself holding her student identification.

A U. of I. student reported that she received a text message purporting to be from her bank asking her if a transaction was valid or fraudulent. She replied that it was fraudulent. The student then received a call from someone purporting to be a bank employee who asked for account information, passcodes, personal identification numbers, and Social Security information, which the student provided. The student later observed nearly $8,000 in fraudulent charges to her account.

A U. of I. student reported that he attempted to buy a $1,400 item he saw advertised on Facebook. He contacted the seller and agreed to send the money in three separate transactions through Zelle. The seller stopped communicating with the student after the money was sent.