URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — A University of Illinois student is out of $90,000 after University Police said they were scammed by someone on the phone.
Officials said that the student received a string of calls throughout November from someone claiming to be a representative of the Chinese Embassy. The caller told the student that their passport was connected to international crime and threatened the student with deportation. The student paid off the threat on Nov. 21 after two-and-a-half weeks’ worth of calls.
This scam is the latest in a series throughout the year that targeted international students and involved the payment of five- or six-digit amounts of money. All of the scams involved someone claiming to be either authorities in China or Chinese diplomats in the U.S. and telling the victims they had been implicated in criminal activity that required a payment to resolve.
In the last two months, U of I police said there have been 10 scams. Pat Wade with the department added that the number of scams this year is on par with years past, but that the amount of money seems to be increasing.
“I think the scammers seem to be getting bolder, they’re kind of testing the waters for how much can we get?” Wade said. “If you pay the scammer, they’re not going to stop asking for money. They’re going to keep coming back.”
He said the design of the scams is often the same, but…
