The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Police warn about telephone scam

Police are warning students not to divulge personal information over the phone after a student nearly became the victim of a scam last week.

According to SIUC Police, an 18-year-old student received a call in his residence hall room Nov. 29. The caller promised him an $8,000 education grant in exchange for a one-time fee of $257.

The student gave the caller his personal information, including bank account information, but later became suspicious.

"Basically, the student thought something wasn't quite right, went online and found some information about the scam," said Capt. Kay Doan. "He then contacted us immediately."

The student called his bank the next morning and closed his account police said. The investigation is continuing.

Director Todd Sigler said he isn't sure if this is a common scam on college campuses, but said that students may be easy targets because many have checking accounts and credit cards for the first times in their lives.

"Unfortunately, students can be very trusting sometimes," Sigler said. "And can be prey to these sort of things. They just don't have the experience of life under their belts, so they need to be extra careful."

The scam attempt comes just months after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued a warning about a similar scam, promising people government grants in exchange for processing fees.

Anyone receiving a call from telemarketers promising government grants should hang up and immediately call SIUC Police at 453-2381.

 

 

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