Scams targeting students
13 Mar 2024
There have been recent reports of students contacted by phone by scammers posing as authorities, police investigation teams or employees of DHL international shipping. The scammers are accusing students of being involved in fraudulent activities and demanding large sums of money be transferred into a particular bank account. Sometimes, they demand the students’ address, passport number and banking details.
These scams happen in every country around the world and target many groups of people. Be careful!
Don’t be tricked into giving scammers your personal details or money. The best way to protect yourself is to:
- Be aware of calls from someone threatening you with arrest or deportation in relation to fake passports
- Never give your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you’re talking to a trusted source
- Contact your bank or financial institution immediately if you think you’ve given your details to a scammer
- Always consider the possibility that uninvited contact from people or businesses might be a scam
- Be aware that scammers can contact you by phone, email, fax, mail, in person or on social networking sites.
If you've been approached by someone you consider suspicious, please contact the Police on 000. You can also report the scam to Monash's Safer Community Unit at security@monash.edu. View more information on what to do when you're targeted for scams.