Stanford student scammed out of a ‘large sum’ of money

By the Daily Post staff

A Stanford student wired a “large sum” of money to a scammer claiming to be a law enforcement officer from outside the U.S., campus police said yesterday (April 17).

The student sent the money on Thursday after the scammer ordered her to do so in order to prove that she wasn’t involved in an alleged crime.

Police didn’t say how much money the student had sent. Police released an alert to students on Saturday, warning them to be skeptical of callers who ask for personal information, including credit card or bank account numbers, Social Security numbers or passwords.

Campus police said that if a caller claims to represent a company or agency, including law enforcement, a bank or the Internal Revenue Service, to hang up and dial the phone number listed on an account statement or website to verify the authenticity of the caller.

Students were told to contact the Stanford University Department of Public Safety or other local law enforcement agency to report a possible scam call.