Beware of sinister back-to-school scams lurking on college campuses
As college students return to campus, experts are warning about the growing sophistication of online scams that target parents and kids - and cost them hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
TL;DR
- Americans aged 20-29 reported losing over $500 million to internet scams last year, with college-related scams becoming more common and sophisticated.
- Scammers are creating fake online portals and scholarship applications to gather personal information and banking credentials for identity theft.
- Fake apartment listings and automated text messages claiming additional tuition fees are also being used to defraud students.
- AI tools enable criminals to create professional-looking scam messages that are harder to detect.
- Students should always double-check information on official university websites and never pay upfront fees for federal student loan assistance.
- Prevention methods include verifying scholarship authenticity, checking for past winners, and being skeptical of contact via text or social media.
- Victims are advised to stop contact with scammers, save evidence, contact their bank, report to law enforcement and the FTC, and remain alert for follow-up scams.