College Students Need to Be Aware of Scams Targeting Them

Thursday, August 11th, 2022 -- 1:01 PM

College students must spend money on tuition payments and school supplies as they prepare for the new year.

However, scammers are taking this opportunity to try to steal some of that money through various schemes and scams. One tactic that has been used to get students' personal information is a phishing email that claims to be from the school’s “Financial Department.”

Messages via text or email may appear, instructing the student to click on a link provided in the email and log in with a student username and password. Don’t do it; doing so could give the user name, password, or other personal information to scammers, while possibly downloading malware onto the device.

Whether you are starting school away from home or have young students who may be vulnerable to such scams, BBB recommends watching out for these financial scams before heading into the new semester.

Fake credit cards - offers to apply for the first credit card are tempting to many students. Not only could this create credit problems down the road due to unchecked spending, but some of the deals could be phony offers designed to get access to personal information.

Too good to be true apartments - It’s hard not to jump on a convenient apartment so close to campus, especially if it advertises affordable rent.

ID theft -  it’s a good idea to start practicing healthy money habits, and one such habit is regularly checking your credit report for unusual activity and possible ID fraud.

Scholarship and grant scams - Be wary of phone calls from companies guaranteeing they can help reduce loan payments or offer a hefty grant.

Online shopping scams - Online purchase scams can be especially effective when set up through social media platforms and apps.

BBB has tips for smart shopping online and a page dedicated to online shopping tips and scam alerts. Awareness of current scams - As tech-savvy as current college students can be, a surprising number of scams reported to BBB’s ScamTracker are from students who learned their lesson too late.

Use BBB’s Scam Tips to learn the latest scam trends and read local reports of specific incidents.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.