University Park

University Police advise students, staff to be wary of sublet scams

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State University Police are asking students, faculty and staff to be aware of some scams that have been affecting the University community.

Recently, a student contacted University Police at the University Park campus to report she had been cheated out of a significant amount of money by a person who posed as a student wanting to sublet her apartment for the summer. The person had paid in advance, but he "accidentally" paid more than was requested and asked the student to refund the overpayment. She did this, only to learn two weeks later that his money order was counterfeit.

"This is another classic scam where a person initially overpays someone with a fraudulent payment method and they then asks the receiver to refund them a legitimate payment," said Tyrone Parham, assistant director of police operations at the University Park campus. "The fraudulent one bounces, and the person on the other end walks away with good money."

Parham said that University Police occasionally hear about hoaxes like this, but they are much more common at the end of the semester, as students are advertising their sublets or items they wish to sell and have made their contact information public.

Parham advises students and staff to be alert to these types of cons and to take steps to protect themselves.

"Never send payment to someone you don't know. This is similar to other scams -- commonly communicated through e-mail -- in which people receive unsolicited requests for their bank account information," said Parham. "If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

If members of the University community believe this has already happened to them or have reason to believe it may occur, they should contact their local town or campus police department, and take immediate steps to stop and cancel any funds being exchanged.

Last Updated March 19, 2009

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