While we would love it if every thing was always safe and on the up and up, the reality is that there are real digital threats out there, especially for college students. Scammers have found unique ways to try and separate you from your hard-earned money, and sadly they’ve gotten quite good at it.
You don’t have to be a victim, though. The first line of defense against these common college scams is education. The more you know about what these bad actors are trying to do, the better you can protect yourself.
Today, we’re going to look at five of the most common college scams you may encounter.
1. Fake Job or Internship Offer Scams (Phishing or Payment)
One of the most common scams targeting college students are fake job or internship offers. These, like many scams, come in all shapes and sizes, but here’s the general framework. You’ll see or receive an offer that will promise a great job or an exciting internship, and will look pretty much identical to a real posting.
Here’s where things take a turn. When you apply for the job or internship, a few things may happen.
First, they may ask for a lot of sensitive information during the onboarding process. If you can’t verify the company and the website, this may be a phishing attack (an attempt to get your personal information).
Second, they may ask for payment or application fees.
Legitimate jobs and internships don’t make you pay to apply or pay for training or anything like that. Remember, it’s a job. They’re supposed to be paying you!
Third (and less common), they may ask you to start work with promise of payment later with no plans of paying you. While you won’t find many jobs that pay you upfront, it’s important that you don’t go extended periods of time working without getting paid.
2. “Your account is locked” School Email Scams (Phishing)
Another common college scam designed to get your personal information are “Your account is locked” scams. With this scam, you’ll receive an email or notification that will look like it’s coming from your school that says your email or student account is locked or about to be locked. In order to unlock it or protect it, you’ll be asked to verify some sensitive information.
The problem? The email is not actually coming from the school. It’s a scammer using some form of similar sounding domain or email trick to get your information.
If you ever get an email like this, pick up the phone and call your school’s IT department directly. Ask them if it’s legitimate, which most likely it is not.
3. Apartment and Housing Deposit Scams (Payment)
Finding housing when you’re in college can be an exciting process, but it also comes with its own set of risks. One of these risks are apartment and housing deposit scams.
Here’s how they work. You’ll find a listing for a property, and for some reason or another, you won’t be able to tour the property or apartment. The person may say it’s being cleaned, they’re doing improvements, the old tenant is there, etc.
Then, they’ll ask you to make a deposit to hold the place for you. It might be first and last month’s rent, or a flat fee, or something of the sort. The problem? The person you are talking to does not actually own the property. It’s a fake listing designed to get you to send them money, but when you show up to move in, someone else will be moving in because you didn’t legitimately rent the property.
How do you protect against this? Take a tour of the property you want to rent before you send any money. Get verification of ownership. If they won’t allow you to tour it or won’t provide verification, tell them you need this before you’re willing to pay. If they pressure you, that is a red flag.
You can always sign a contract if they’re worried about you backing out on renting the property.
4. Scholarship and Financial Aid Scams (Phishing or Payment)
This common college scam operates much like the fake internship or job offer scam. You may receive an unsolicited email that says you won a scholarship or are approved for financial aid of some sort.
While these emails can (at times) be real, you have to verify it before proceeding.
Red flags to look for include:
- Asking for sensitive information
- Requiring some form of payment to “release” the funds
- Coming unsolicited
Remember, legitimate companies and organizations are aware of the digital landscape and will do everything in there power to make sure you know the opportunity is real and safe.
5. Sextortion of Blackmail Scams (Payment)
The last common college scam we want to talk about is known as a sextortion or blackmail scam. The general idea of this scam is that a scammer will impersonate someone else to elicit potentially compromising information or pictures from you. They’ll gain your trust, get you to send them what they need, and also look to get access to your social media (to see your friends list).
Then, once they have what they need, they’ll drop the hammer and let you know that if you don’t pay them a certain amount of money, they’ll send the photos or compromising information to all of your friends and family.
How do you protect yourself in these situations? Don’t send compromising information or photos to strangers (or anyone for that matter).
This is the only way to ensure you won’t fall victim to this scam. Sadly, it’s becoming much more common these days. The worst part about the scam is that even if you pay what’s asked, they’ll continue to ask for more money and it will never end.
If you’d like to see this information in an infographic, make sure to check out our Common College Scams Infographic Resource.