Between Wednesday, April 11 and Thursday, April 12, a Stanford student was scammed into wiring a “large sum of money” to a caller from China, according to an AlertSU report released Saturday night.

The caller claimed they were a law enforcement officer and told the Stanford student she had to wire the money as proof that she “was not involved in an alleged crime.” 

In the AlertSU report, Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) officials described phone scams as “common.” Officials advised against providing personal information such as credit card numbers or passwords over the phone to unknown callers.

SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson said that Stanford public safety officials refer victims to the FBI, IRS and Federal Trade Commission as resources following these crimes.

SUDPS authorities also suggested confirming “the authenticity of the call and caller”  if a caller claims to be affiliated with a government agency or company and requests money.

“Whenever you are requested to wire or send money, especially if the transaction did not originate with you, it should be considered a scam,” Larson said. “When in doubt, contact local police.”

 

This report has been updated with additional comment from SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson. 

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the FBI, IRS and FTC were available as financial “recourse” for victims. SUDPS refers victims to such entities as resources. The Daily regrets the error. 

 

Contact Courtney Douglas at ccd4 ‘at’ stanford.edu.