Find out how scammers are targeting college students

SALT LAKE CITY — College students will always face the expected challenges: the early mornings, stressful tests and homework. But an unexpected challenge will also always impact them — scams. “In back-to-school season, we see an increased number of scams targeting students,” said Melanie Roller, Capital One’s Head of Retail Bank Fraud. She said many scams target young people trying to save a buck in their studies.

So many schemes

There are scholarship scams, where fraudsters offer “guaranteed” scholarships — so long as college students pay an upfront fee. However, those scholarship funds are nonexistent. Then there are companies offering student loan forgiveness that allow students to erase or reduce their loans quickly. But these scams are designed to charge high fees or to steal personal info. And college students must even navigate around school supply scams, where they’ll buy discounted textbooks or electronics on websites that are fake and will never make delivery on the goods. Students also need to be on guard when looking for housing. Scammers love to steal real listings near campus and then repost them as their own. They’ll demand deposit money and then disappear. And college students — and their parents — should be careful of what they share on social media. Even that pic of a student celebrating graduation is just enough for a scammer to get their foot in the door. They've been known to call up, pretending to be from student services and tell grads that their diploma is being held due to unpaid tuition. Or they could reach out to the student with a fake job offer.

Red flags

“Scammers will often create a false sense of urgency,” warned Roller. “Whether it's claiming that a payment is late, or a deal is going to expire. And they're relying on this pressure to make sure that you are overlooking red flags.” This may surprise you, but according to the Federal Trade Commission, the age group that loses the most to scammers is young people — ages 20-29. That’s typically the age range of people who grew up with tech at their fingertips and think they know how to spot a scam. But clearly, they are often wrong.

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