Regina police warn of tuition scam targeting university students

Article content

University students are being targeted by scammers offering discounted tuition, according to the Regina Police Service (RPS).

Police have seen an increase in such fraud cases over the past month, stated an RPS news release issued Friday.

“Investigation indicates that the victims are being fraudulently promised discounted tuition fees. Scammers pose as intermediaries claiming they can offer reduced tuition rates in exchange for an upfront payment,” the release states.

Article content

“The scammer receives the tuition money, then ‘pays’ the educational institution using fraudulent credit cards.”

But the tuition is not paid.

Victims later receive a notice that there was a problem with payment, the release states, noting that the scam has affected 23 people so far and caused over $125,000 in financial loss to date.

The RPS warns people to “stay vigilant” and offers the following advice, as stated in the release:

• Never provide your passwords or login information to anyone. Protect your personal information.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
• No one is going to pay your bills for the full amount and provide you a discount.
• If someone is offering you something on behalf of another company/educational institute, go to the source. Ask that institution/company if they have a relationship/agreement with that intermediary.
• Once you have been victimized, be cautious of “recovery” schemes. A scammer connected to the first scammer may promise to be able to recover your lost funds for a fee.

Anyone who believes they have been a victim or suspects they are being targeted is asked to call police at 306-777-6500.

The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.

With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.

Share this article in your social network