Scammers target UHCL students
A new twist to an age-old scam is currently besieging University of Houston-Clear Lake students.
In recent weeks, UHCL international students have been targeted by scam artists who are attempting to scare them into handing over thousands of dollars with threats of deportation.
“Tuesday evening I received a phone call, and the man said his name was Officer John with Homeland Security,” said Krishna Teja Katepalli, engineering management major. “He asked me if I wanted to answer his questions, but I immediately disconnected the phone call.”
About 20 minutes later, ‘Officer John’ called again.
“He asked me if I wanted to answer his questions again, and because I wanted to see what he would say, I told him yes this time,” Katepalli said. “He started asking me questions like if I had any medical problems and what was my real name. I told him ‘I don’t want to answer your questions,’ and he started getting mad.”
Katepalli said that the caller began to be more assertive and even told him that he would need to meet with Homeland Security in person.
“When I didn’t answer his questions he told me, ‘but I’m an officer and you are supposed to answer my questions,’” Katepalli said.
Katepalli hung up and reported the phone call to Homeland Security; they told Katepalli that he did the right thing by not giving any of his information to the caller.
“They told me they are investigating it now and gave me a case number for updates,” said Katepalli, who also said that he knows of other students who have received similar phone calls and have gotten scared because the callers say they are Homeland Security.
This and similar scams have been traced back to India and Pakistan. In October, dozens of arrests were made following a police raid on call centers in India. International scammers fleece millions of dollars off their victims. They are often assisted by co-conspirators from the U.S.
“I got a phone call the other day from someone who said they were with the IRS telling me I owed $3,000 to the government,” said a student, who asked to remain anonymous. “They told me that I had a complaint against me and told me to hold on for two minutes to speak with their advisor, but then they hung up.”
The person called back within a few minutes and accused the student of hanging up the phone.
“They asked me why I dropped the call, and they sounded angry,” the student said. “I told them ‘I didn’t hang up, you did,’ but they just told me I needed to pay my taxes or they were filing charges against me. When I told them I wasn’t going to pay anything unless I had a document in front of me telling me why I owed money, they told me I was asking for something that was not possible and that I was wasting their time.”
The student said that the caller knew his full name and an old address. The student was told he needed to make a payment using a Western Union money transfer.
“They told me that if I did not pay today, I would need to hire a lawyer and go to court which would cost me more money so that I should just pay them today,” the student said.
The caller then resorted to threats in order to intimidate the student into paying.
“They threatened that the police would be at my door in 10 minutes to arrest me and that I would be deported for not paying,” the student said, who mentioned that he was also told he would be in jail for a minimum of seven months. “They told me my degree and any work I’ve done here would be canceled, so I hung up the phone.”
Scammers have also demanded payment for a federal student tax, even though this tax does not exist. They use threats of deportation, jail time and immediate arrests as schemes to scare victims.
“The IRS does not use scare tactics,” said Benjamin Ayala, Federal Trade Commission supervisor. “They’ll tell you that you haven’t paid taxes, or that you’re under arrest if you don’t pay, but that is not how any government agency would handle a situation if one did owe money.”
The UHCL Police Department said they have not received any reports or complaints about phone calls in recent weeks, but they encourage students to reach out to them if they have any questions about phone calls, texts or emails they receive.
“The callers may appear to be genuine and convincing because they have some limited information about you,” said Allen Hill, UHCL interim chief of police. “They may say there is a serious problem with your immigration status and that you need to pay a fine or send a payment, most commonly demanded by Western Union or debit cards.”
Hill points out that the majority of the time, the caller will make threats to intimidate people into sending them money, and will speak in dramatic terms to make targeted victims panic and feel pressured.
A list of common fraud schemes can be found on the FBI website, where there is also a page to file complaints about fraudulent phone calls. There is also a similar list on the FTC website that includes scam alerts and advice on how to avoid scams.
“One way to know if it is a fraudulent phone call is to ask for their information and tell them you will contact them later, and if they are scammers, they won’t want to give you any information,” Hill said. “Students may also wish to tell the caller or sender that you know about the fraudulent contact they are making and that you will be reporting it to the police, and they will usually hang up at this point.”
With technology advances, modern scammers are finding ways to imitate legitimacy. Many now have the ability to provide phone numbers for return calls, and even trick your caller ID into displaying a government agency’s name, such as the IRS.
“Don’t ever give out any personal information, and do not confirm that any information they have is correct,” Hill said.
If you have any concerns or questions about what you believe to be fraudulent activity, contact the UHCL Police Department at 281-281-2222.
The Better Business Bureau posts scam alerts on its web page and offers the following tips:
- Don’t wire any money. The IRS will not ask for payment over the phone, especially by money order or prepaid debit card. If you owe money to the IRS, you will receive a letter in the mail.
- Hang up and don’t call back. Although it is tempting to have the last word, you may give scammers information they can use later.
