ISSS has received an increasing number of phone and email scams affecting international students and scholars. There has been an uptick in housing and rental scams where individuals transfer money before they start their program in the US to a fraudulent realtor or landlord, scamming the victims out of hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Other reported scams involve phone calls from alleged government representatives demanding personal information and money with threats of deportation from the U.S.
Please educate yourself about phone and email scams so that you do not become a victim. If you believe that you have been a victim of a scam, contact our office immediately at 215-204-7708..
Please refer to the links below for helpful resources to protect your identity and information.
- https://www.usa.gov/housing-scams#item-211837
- https://www.usa.gov/identity-theft
- https://oig.ssa.gov/scam-awareness/scam-alert/
- https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Document/2019/bewareICEimposters.pdf
- https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog
- https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/pass-it-on/imposter-scams#
- https://youtu.be/i4nCy6Xs6R8