Common Types of Scams

The University Police Department regularly reviews local incidents to identify the most common scams. Below, you'll find a list of these frequent scams along with practical tips to enhance your safety. 

You can also find more information on the FBI website about Common Frauds and Scams.  

Financial Aid Scams  

Financial aid scams exploit the high cost of education by promising to help with scholarships or tuition payments. However, these scams are designed to steal your money or personal information instead of offering genuine assistance. 

Tips to protect yourself: 

  • Be Skeptical of Unsolicited Offers. Avoid engaging with emails, calls, or texts claiming you’ve won a grant or scholarship you didn’t apply for. 
  • Verify the Source. Ensure emails or communications about financial aid come from official university domains (e.g., ending in .edu) or reputable organizations. 
  • Do Not Share Personal Information. Never share your Social Security number, banking details, or student ID information with unknown parties. 
  • Inspect Emails and Websites Carefully. Look for typos, grammar errors, or odd formatting in emails, as these can be signs of phishing. 

Report financial aid and scholarship scams to the FTC at Report Fraud. 

 

Sextortion Scams 

Sextortion is a serious crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don’t provide them with images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money. 

Tips to protect yourself: 

  • Never send compromising images of yourself to anyone, no matter who they are—or who they say they are. 
  • Do not open attachments from people you do not know. 
  • Turn off or cover your web cameras when you are not using them. 

If you believe you are a victim of sextortion, the FBI suggests that you contact your local FBI office, call their toll-free number at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. 

 

Online Vehicle Car Scams 

Online vehicle scams involve scammers posting fake ads on auction or sales websites for cars they don’t actually own. They may communicate with you online, share photos of the vehicle, and even provide fake invoices. Always verify the seller and vehicle before making any purchase. 

How to spot fake online car sales: 

  • Sellers try to rush the sale 
  • The seller can’t or won’t meet in person or let you inspect the car 
  • The seller will want you to pay with gift cards or by wire transfer  
  • The sellers demand more money after the sale 

If you are ever a victim of a cyber-crime, you can file a complaint and find more resources at the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. 

 

Spoofing/Phishing 

Spoofing and phishing are schemes aimed at tricking you into providing sensitive information—like your password or bank PIN—to scammers. 

Spoofing is when someone disguises an email address, sender name, phone number, or website URL—often just by changing one letter, symbol, or number—to convince you that you are interacting with a trusted source. 

Phishing schemes often use spoofing techniques to lure you in and get you to take the bait. These scams are designed to trick you into giving information to criminals that they shouldn’t have access to. 

Tips to protect yourself: 

  • Don’t click on anything in an unsolicited email or text message. Carefully examine the email address, URL, and spelling used in any correspondence. Scammers use slight differences to trick your eye and gain your trust. 
  • Be careful what you download. Beware of e-mail attachments even from email addresses ending with @csulb.edu. 
  • Confirm identities. If you’re not sure, call the sender at a number you know is legitimate to check. 
  • Trust your instincts. If you get a suspicious message forward to alert@csulb.edu and ITS will take appropriate action.  
  • Set up two-factor (or multi-factor) authentication on any account that allows it.
  • Be careful with what information you share online or on social media. 

Visit the campus Phishing 101 page to learn more about phishing. 

 

Phone Call Scams 

A phone scam is when someone calls you pretending to be someone you trust, like a government official, bank representative, or a family member, with the goal of tricking you into giving them personal information, money, or remote access to your computer, often by creating a sense of urgency or fear. 

Tips to protect yourself: 

  • Never share personal information, like social security numbers, account passwords, or banking details over the phone. 
  • Be skeptical of unsolicited calls. 
  • Scammers often demand you pay certain ways. They will insist you pay in a way that makes it hard to get your money back, like wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency, or payment app. 

If you’ve lost money to a phone scam or have information about the scammer who called you, you can report the scam to the FTC. 

 

Romance Scams 

In romance scams, a criminal uses a fake online identity to gain a victim's affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim. 

Tips to protect yourself: 

  • Be careful what you post and make public online. 
  • Research the person’s photo and profile using online searches to see if the image, name, or details have been used elsewhere. 
  • Beware if the individual seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a dating service or social media site to communicate directly. 
  • Beware if the individual attempts to isolate you from friends and family or requests inappropriate photos or financial information that could later be used to extort you. 
  • Beware if the individual promises to meet in person but then always comes up with an excuse why he or she can’t.   
  • Never send money to anyone you have only communicated with online or by phone. 

Visit Romance Scams from the FBI website to learn more.