The University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department sent out the following safety message Wednesday regarding scam information for international students.
The University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department (UNPPSD) is alerting the UNMC community after recent scams involving a member of our University of Nebraska community. Please read this notification, take necessary precautions, be alert and call the Public Safety Department with any questions or concerns.
There have been recent reports of University of Nebraska students and scholars being targeted by scammers impersonating officials from such organizations as the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), ICE (Immigration and Customs enforcement), CBP (Customs and Border Protection), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), a U.S. Consulate, county sheriff, city law enforcement, or other government agency. These scammers, who manipulate their phone number to falsely appear to be calling from an official agency, deceived people into believing their freedom or immigration status is in jeopardy or that they must pay money or go to a location to avoid arrest.
Remember that legitimate US authorities will never contact you by telephone or email to demand payment of any kind or threaten to terminate your immigration status unless you hand over money, sexual favors, or merchandise.
The scammer may have specific information about you (where you are from, your school, etc.) that they discover from public or hacked information so they may appear to be legitimate, but it is best to first contact the UNPPSD before providing or verifying any information.
Red flags that should make you suspicious of any such phone calls, emails, or text messages:
For phone calls:
- Requiring you to stay on the phone and stay talking with them.
- Not providing you a callback number.
- Asking you to go to Walmart or any other place and buy gift cards.
- Asking you to accept money and then deposit it into another account or receive instructions to back it out of your account.
- Asking for any bank account or credit card information.
- Asking for any personally identifiable information.
Your options (any one or all of these):
- Do not provide any personal information!
- Ask for the name of the agency and a callback number.
- Hang up.
- Call the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department (UNPPSD) or your local law enforcement agency at to verify any claims made by the caller. UNPPSD may be reached at 402-559-5111.
Thank you for your time and attention, and please feel free to contact UNPPSD to verify any suspicious activity or if you believe you have already been the victim of a scammer. If you are an international student, you are welcome to reach out to your international student support team if you have any questions or concerns.