A McMaster University student was scammed of CAD 100,000

CBC News shared the story of a student from McMaster University, one of Canada's most renowned universities. In early September last year, the student received a phone call from a man who identified himself as a UPS delivery employee.

This "employee" reported that a package from China that was to be sent to a student in Canada had been detained by Chinese customs because it allegedly contained bank cards and passports related to international commercial scams. The phone was then handed to a man who identified himself as a Chinese police officer. He told the Hamilton student that his bank card had been used for fraud and he was facing charges.

The Canadian student spent another 20 days communicating via Skype with people who posed as police officers and kept telling him what terrible punishment an ordinary student could face in connection with the situation. Finally, they made him an offer: the "policemen" were ready to speed up the investigation and not arrest the "suspect" if he paid an amount equivalent to CAD 100,000. And the student paid them.

But here's the whole thing... There was no investigation, no UPS employee and no Chinese police. It was all just a simple fraud, as CBC journalists found out.

The Hamilton Police Service and McMaster University officials reported that students fall victim to such fraudulent schemes with enviable frequency. This is especially true for freshmen and international students. According to McMaster University, from 2012 to 2022, an average of almost 14 students per year fell victim to scam.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received nearly 32 and a half thousand claims from fraud victims in 2023. In total, Canadians lost almost CAD 283.5 million. So, unfortunately, it's not only students who suffer from scam in Canada.

Hamilton police said that since 2021, there have been 5 cases of "fake police" scams in the city, and in 3 of them, people gave money to extortionists. However, there are other fraudulent schemes.

McMaster University shared the story of how a student who wanted to get a discount on tuition lost CAD 5,000. And it happened shortly before the situation with the "fake police" above. Moreover, the university security service states that such fraudulent schemes are becoming more and more common.

This weekend Canada switches to winter time

A new era for Canadian athletes

Canada celebrates its National Day and reflec...

Rising inflation in May threatens rate cuts i...

Canada Prepares for a Sharp Increase in the E...

High Auto Insurance Rates for Immigrants Spar...

Canadian intelligence raises alarm: China's i...

Canada continues to attract skilled professio...

How the food supply chain in Canada works and...

The mysterious disappearance of a taxidermy g...

The remains of a mysterious ship have been fo...

Saskatchewan raises age limit for tobacco pur...

In August 2022, a woman came across an advertisement on WeChat that offered a discount of up to 70% off tuition. She contacted the company offering this service and arranged for the company to help the student pay her tuition, for which she provided her McMaster University ID number and password so that the company could access her tuition account and make the payment. Subsequently, the student even received confirmation from McMaster University that her tuition had been paid. Police attribute this to the fraudsters using credit cards to "pay for tuition."

The student, having seen the confirmation of payment, transferred CAD 5,000 to the fraudsters in 10 installments. After receiving the money, the "company" asked the woman to delete the correspondence so that there would be no legal problems in the future. She agreed to do so, but then realized that the payment for the tuition had never actually taken place.

In the end, the woman lost CAD 5,000 and she still had to pay tuition fees. Police are investigating. This type of fraud is not new, but Hamilton police said it is the first time they have encountered it in the city.

There are other types of "scams" that students may encounter. These include rent and textbook scams.

A rental scam usually looks like the following. A scammer places an advertisement on the Internet about housing for rent at a fairly low price. He assures you that you can come to the place and see the apartment/house in person. You are offered to pay the rent for the first and last month of your stay. And in return they promise to send you the keys to the apartment. In the end, after you pay the required amount, you never get the key. The day of check-in comes, you can arrive at the address and find out that the apartment has never been rented out and someone lives there.

Next is textbook scam. A fraudster responds to a student's advertisement for books for study, expressing a desire to purchase textbooks. He then requests the bank details of the seller and allegedly sends an amount of money that is much higher than the cost of the books.

Having done so, the scammer informs him that he has made a mistake. He still agrees to buy the books, but simply asks the well-meaning student to keep the amount equal to the cost of the textbooks and return the rest of the money by e-Transfer to an e-mail address. The student returns the money, and then realizes that no money was originally transferred to him, and the check turns out to be forged.

Finally, university and college students suffer from the notorious "phishing" scam. Students receive e-mails in which supposedly university officials send them a link to a textbook, and by clicking on it, the student unknowingly gives fraudsters access to his or her personal data. Or in phishing, the same alleged university/college officials request some personal data from the student and the student provides it.

Interestingly, successful phishing attempts can lead to fraudsters gaining access to the university's data and launching a more serious attack.

How to protect yourself from fraud? And what should you do if you do get caught? The Hamilton Police advise that often when you are being extorted for money, an international transfer is required. If students are staying in Canada and are trying to pay for a service that way in Canada, it should be disconcerting to them that an international translation is required. As for potential police contact, it is important to know that Canadian police are not authorized to accept or extort money from people.

In any situation where you are offered very favorable terms for something, it is better to act calmly and properly check who you are dealing with before providing your banking information or transferring money. Scammers often put pressure on their victims and don't want to give them time to think about further actions. That's why sometimes it's a good idea to just take a short break and assess the situation properly. You can ask yourself questions about how real the offer from the "company" that offers an incredible discount on tuition at the university where you have already enrolled looks. You can seek advice from someone close to you. In general, it is worth trying to assess the situation critically at least a little bit.

You can also check the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center's website to see what types of fraud exist. Educational institutions, such as McMaster University, also sometimes have a separate tab on their website dedicated to fraud.

Finally, if you are interested in applying to a Canadian university but are concerned about being scammed, contact Immigrant Today. We work with many universities and colleges across Canada and help the prospective student through every stage of the admissions process. So with us, you can definitely be sure that you will not be scammed. At link you can sign up for a Canadian admissions counseling session and read many testimonials from those who have contacted us, been satisfied with our services and have already started studying in Canada.

Finally, if you are a student in Canada and you do become a victim of fraud, contact university security and the police. No one can guarantee that you will be able to get your money back, but the police will do their best. After all, Canada recognizes that there is a problem with student fraud and is trying to fight it.