Scammers are targeting Iowa college freshmen, and they need to be on-guard for suspicious emails, texts and calls. Lisa Schiller, at the Better Business Bureau, says crooks see students in their late teens who are on their own for the first time as easy, vulnerable targets.
Schiller says parents should prep their college kids for things like high-interest credit card offers, shady landlords and other common traps. She says criminals can tailor their usual scams to better lure in college students.
That’s an imposter scam, a common tactic used by criminals. If you get one of these messages, contact your school’s offices via known, safe numbers instead of relying on the contact information provided by a would-be scammer. They may even send letters via the U-S Postal Service, and if one of those arrives, Schiller says to do a little homework.
The criminals may also try to lure in college students with promises of free money.
If you get one of these messages, report it to the BBB or the Iowa Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.
