Scam Information & Alerts

Scams can come in the form of phone calls or email and are unsolicited attempts to get personal information or money from you under false pretenses. International students and scholars continue to be subjected to scams involving calls appearing to be someone from a government agency and even 911. The caller may demand personally identifiable information or payment with a specific method such as wire transfer or gift cards to resolve an error with your record. These calls are completely false.

There has also been an increase in email scams with offers of employment that require little work for a lot of money. These emails are scams. In many of these scenarios, the scammers will send an electronic check to students and then ask students to use Zelle or Cashapp to distribute the money to other employees who will help them with necessary equipment. Legitimate companies do not function this way. Even if the money from the check shows up in your bank account the next business day, it still takes some banks up to 30 days to verify the legitimacy of a check.

In some cases, the caller or emailer may claim you did something wrong regarding your immigration status or taxes, and that you are going to be deported. They may claim that you are under surveillance, and that you cannot contact any other individual or go to any website to confirm this issue. They may state that you must wire money to them to start an investigation, or to pay a fine, etc. and they ask you to provide other sensitive personal and financial information in the process including your Social Security Number, bank account information, and other identity documents. Even if the caller or emailer already has a lot of information about you, do not share any additional personal or financial information such as your SSN, bank account, or debit/card information.  Do not click on links or download attachments from senders not known to you.

Active scam alerts are posted below.  Please also review our tips on how to protect yourself if you receive a scam phone call.

Scam Alerts

August 21, 2023

OIS has been made aware that some students are receiving unsolicited emails with part-time internship/employment opportunities wherein the emailer later sends an electronic check and asks you to Zelle or Cashapp the money to other employees who will help you with needed equipment. If the sender is not someone you’ve met at a job fair or related to a job for which you’ve applied, you should automatically be cautious about the legitimacy of the email. For example, if it’s claiming to be from a NC State staff or faculty member, is the sending address an @ncsu.edu address? 

Please be cautious of e-check scams. In an e-check scam the scammers will email you a check image (calling it an electronic check) and ask you to deposit this check into your bank account- you should note that no legitimate company will pay an employee with an emailed image of a check. This is in fact considered check fraud. While there are legitimate ways a company can pay an employee using an e-check, emailing an image of a check to someone is not a legal use of an e-check. 

In many of these scams, the scammers ask students to use Zelle or Cashapp to send money to other people. They do this because Zelle or Cashapp sends real money and in most cases, there’s nothing Zelle or Cashapp can do because you authorized the transaction.

Things to remember:

• NEVER volunteer personal identifying information after clicking an unsolicited link sent through email.
• It can take banks up to 30 days to verify the legitimacy of an email. Just because the money shows up in your bank account, that doesn’t mean the check was real.
• Paychecks are issued by University Payroll within the University Controller’s Office. Individual professors do not send paychecks to students.
• If an overpayment from NC State ever occurred, you would be able to confirm this information with University Payroll directly.
• F-1 and J-1 students need prior authorization to participate in any kind of off-campus employment. You should not accept an offer for off-campus employment without first discussing with OIS (so OIS can advise you on what type of authorization you will need to participate).
• See the FAQs below if you believe you’ve been the victim of a scam.

April 18, 2023

There have been several reports of a new scam attempt involving the supposed subleasing of apartments. In this scam, someone contacts a NC State student who has advertised a sublease of an apartment and promises to pay by check to secure the sublease. In this scenario they “accidentally” overpay and ask you to reimburse them for the overpayment through a real payment method like CashApp or Zelle. It is only later that the bank indicates the initial check was fraudulent and now the student with the sublease has lost the money they sent the scammer. We have also heard that another variation of this scam is to promise to pay through your payment portal. Once students share their legitimate login credentials, the scammers use the portal access to try and gain personal and financial information.

Things to remember:

• You should not reimburse strangers for “accidental” overpayment for things like sublease rent. In previous years we’ve seen a similar scam for the purchase of used furniture. Instead, return the original payment and ask that they reissue payment in the correct amount or request correct payment via a method that allows you to confirm the legitimacy immediately (PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, etc.).
• It often takes banks 3 to 4 weeks to verify the legitimacy of a check that has been deposited or cashed. The money showing up in your bank account doesn’t necessarily mean that a check is legitimate.
• Never share your login credentials with anyone, including for rent payment portals.
• Be careful where you advertise a sublease. When possible, work through the management company or leasing office to identify legitimate offers to sublet an apartment.

December 2, 2022

OIS has been made aware of another scam attempt where the scammer appears to call from a NC State phone number and impersonates a university employee. The scammer tells the student they have failed to fill out immigration paperwork and says that the student will receive a phone call from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with further details. Students then receive a second phone call from someone impersonating an ICE officer. That person also reports that immigration forms are missing and they demand immediate payment to “correct” the problem. Payment has been demanded by Zelle as well as gift cards. In some cases, the scammers become increasingly aggressive, make threats, and even threaten action and harm against family members in their home country. These scammers are relying on fear to scare students out of hard earned money.

Things to remember:

• OIS helps to ensure your immigration record is in order while you are in F-1, J-1, J-2, or F-2 status and would communicate with you by email first if action was needed to fix an issue.
• US government agencies (including ICE) do not call threatening immediate action (including fines, imprisonment, or bodily harm)for failure to complete immigration actions.
• No governmental entity will call and/or text you or threaten retaliation for failing to respond or provide information.
• No US governmental entity will call and/or text you to seek payment.
• NEVER divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers.

Please see the “What Should I Do” section below if you feel you have been the victim of a scam.

July 21st, 2022

OIS has been made aware that some students are receiving unsolicited emails with part-time internship/employment opportunities wherein the emailer asks for additional contact information (i.e. phone number) or personal identifying information (i.e. birthdate) in order to provide you with more information about the job opportunity or to consider you for the position. Usually these emails promise a large amount of money for little work. In most cases, legitimate employers do not send unsolicited emails asking for personal information unrelated to your job qualifications or experience. If the sender is not someone you’ve met at a job fair or related to a job for which you’ve applied, you should automatically be cautious about the legitimacy of the email. For example, if it’s claiming to be from a NC State staff or faculty member, is the sending address an @ncsu.edu address? 

Once the scammers have your personal information, they will contact you via email or text and continue to ask for more personal information or to provide you with details on how to set up a direct payment system with them. Please be cautious of e-check scams. In an e-check scam the scammers will email you a check image (calling it an electronic check) and ask you to deposit this check into your bank account- you should note that no legitimate company will pay an employee with an emailed image of a check. This is in fact considered check fraud. While there are legitimate ways a company can pay an employee using an e-check, emailing an image of a check to someone is not a legal use of an e-check. 

Things to remember:

• NEVER volunteer personal identifying information after clicking an unsolicited link sent through email.
• Paychecks are issued by University Payroll within the University Controller’s Office. Individual professors do not send paychecks to students.
• If an overpayment from NC State ever occurred, you would be able to confirm this information with University Payroll directly.
• F-1 and J-1 students need prior authorization to participate in any kind of off-campus employment. You should not accept an offer for off-campus employment without first discussing with OIS (so OIS can advise you on what type of authorization you will need to participate).
• See the FAQs below if you believe you’ve been the victim of a scam.