College Student Stimulus Check Scams Begin to Heat Up

Classes being moved to virtual and students being off of campus is not stopping scammers from targeting students. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a recent college student stimulus check scam claims to be from universities’ financial departments. However, it’s a trap to steal sensitive information and install malware on students’ devices.

Who is it targeting: College students

What it Is: Phishing scam that steals information, potentially installs malware

What Are They After: This recent email scam is disguised as a message from the victim’s university’s “financial department” regarding their COVID-19 economic stimulus check. The email claims it needs to be opened from a portal using a university login. If a student logs in with their university account, they could give away their login credentials and potentially download malware to their device.

How You Can Avoid It:

• Investigate – If you are suspicious of an email, contact the sender directly to verify that they are legitimate. Look up their phone number or website yourself. Do not click on any links.

• Pay attention to detail- Bad grammar and spelling can be a way to spot a phishing email. Another clue that the email is not from your school is if they use the wrong department name (calling themselves the Financial Department rather than the Financial Aid Department).

If a student thinks they may have been targeted by a stimulus check scam, they can live-chat with an Identity Theft Resource Center expert advisor. They can also call for toll-free, no-cost assistance at 888.400.5530. For full details on the college student stimulus check scam, consumers can check out this article from the FTC.

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