Beware of scams

There are numerous emails, text messages and social media posts being circulated that prompt you to click on a link for more information. When clicking on this link, malicious software would then gain access to your devices and obtain your personal and financial information. 

Tips:

• Do not click on any links unless the URLs are hosted on official domains. For example: 
  • unsw.edu.au/ or unsw.to/
  • [...].gov.au/
• Report or mark communications as phishing through your email platform
• Delete and do not reply to suspicious texts, emails or posts. 

Scammers are using stolen credit cards to pay international student course fees. They pretend to be authorised agents of universities and offer to pay students' tuition fees on their behalf at a discounted rate.

Scammers would make the full payment to the university on behalf of the student and instruct the student to pay them the discounted tuition fee directly to the scammer's bank account. The payment to the university would then be cancelled as the scammer has used a fraudulent credit card to complete the transaction.  

What's being done to prevent this?

The Conduct & Integrity Office (CIO) has reported these scams to NSW Police and the Australian Signals Directorate. We have put controls and protocols in place for these reports and have relayed this procedure to relevant areas of the University including Finance, Security, Registrar and reception.

The CIO is working with UNSW Protective Services and the Division of Education & Student Experience to warn students of the scam and to prevent further victims and fraud. A report is being prepared for the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA).

False claims of offer re-issuance for withdrawn applicants

There are reports of individuals posing as entities who are targeting international applicants across Chinese social media platforms, claiming that they can help students get their offers re-issued if they have been withdrawn for a fee. These claims are fraudulent and these entities are not official representatives of UNSW. Only the UNSW Admissions & Scholarships team can issue offers to students. 

What to do

• We have an official network of agent partners and representatives with whom we work closely to provide support to future students. Find a list of official representatives here.
• If you have received another offer to study at UNSW and are unsure of the validity of your offer letter, you can log onto the Accept Online portal to check or submitting an Admissions enquiry.
• You can report any approaches from these companies to the UNSW Conduct & Integrity Office.

Fraudulent offer letters

There are reports of organisations falsely claiming to be the UNSW Admissions and Scholarships Team or that they are working with the team. They send members of the public false admission or scholarship offers with a UNSW letterhead to trick people into paying a fake acceptance fee.

What to do

• We have an official network of agent partners and representatives with whom we work closely to provide support to future students. Find a list of official representatives here.
• If you are unsure of the validity of your offer letter, you can log onto the Accept Online portal to check or submitting an Admissions enquiry.
• You can report any approaches from these companies to the UNSW Conduct & Integrity Office.

What's being done?

The Conduct and Integrity Office (CIO) is working with UNSW Legal and Compliance to send a cease-and-desist letter and will separately report the matter to NSW Police. 

Victims are instructed by a false authority or government official to pay a sum of money or risk being deported or having their visa cancelled. Some scammers may also be pretending to be from UNSW.

What to do

1. Hang up.
2. Do not pay any money.
3. Contact UNSW Protective Services or your Consulate in Sydney for advice.
4. Report to the NSW Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or to your local police station. You may also call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
5. If they have your bank details, contact your bank immediately.
6. Warn your friends and family about this scam. 

Examples:

• Immigration & visa compliance  - pretending to be from UNSW College - example.
• Gift-card scams - with scammers blackmailing and threatening victims if they do not purchase gift cards and provide the codes over the phone - read more on the ACCC website and on the Apple website.

Airport Scam Alert

• Scammers are offering rides from Sydney Airport to UNSW. Do not accept a lift with anyone you do not know or have not booked a shuttle or transfer with - only use pre-booked shuttles or transfers
• UNSW provides a free airport pick-up through Sydney Super Shuttle for new and returning international students. The shuttle transports students from Sydney Airport to UNSW Campus and select accomodation providers.

Virtual kidnappings involve online scammers impersonating a Chinese government official and convincing victims they have been implicated in a crime and must pay large amounts of money or cryptocurrency into offshore Chinese bank accounts to avoid being deported or arrested.

What would usually happen in this situation?

• If victims can't transfer money to overseas bank accounts, they're told to fake their kidnapping
• Victims must buy a new phone and not use their old one at all to make the kidnapping look real
• They must book a hotel or Airbnb and only communicate with the "government official". Some victims are even told to travel interstate or overseas
• Victims are told to buy a rope and makeup, tie themselves up, and make it look like they've been beaten
• Victims are told to take photographs and videos of themselves whilst tied up and to send them to their parents, to create the impression they have been kidnapped
• Scammers would then threaten to jail the victims' parents if they don't pay
• Some male victims are told to go to addresses where female victims are staying and act as a government official for the scammers
• Scammers use false police IDs and fake police stations to convince victims of the threat's legitimacy.

What to do

• Immediately contact NSW Police or UNSW Protective Services for support
• Don’t use any contact details provided by the caller. Verify their identity by calling the relevant organisation directly.

Rental scams trick people into paying money for accommodation that doesn't exist or isn't actually available. In the current competitive rental market, scammers target vulnerable people in our community, particularly international students.

Scammers are advertising false accommodation through messaging services such as Kakao, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. These properties would then be inspected on behalf of the victim, which would turn out to be a holiday accommodation and not available for rent. These scammers would demand a bond and rental payments upfront for a property that they are not allowed to rent out to others. 

Tips

• Never share personal information or send money to strangers.
• Avoid paying for a rental property by transfer or cash as these payments methods are difficult to trace
• Pay bonds through trusted third parties such as NSW Fair Trading Rental Bonds Online, who will lodge and refund bond money securely
• Use well-known platforms and research properties and agents - only use well-known platforms
• Never pay upfront for a property before you’ve seen it in person - scammers may display impressive photos of properties or ask for a deposit before you've inspected it
• Be cautious of properties with significantly lower prices than other comparable rental properties in the area or landlords who pressure you to sign a lease quickly
• Understand your rental rights.

What to do

Speak to the Off-Campus Accommodation Support (OCAS) team or Arc for advice on tenancy and rental enquiries.

Sexual extortion (or sextortion, or image-based abuse) is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to share intimate personal images of you online unless their demands are met. These demands are typically for money, more intimate images or sexual favours. 

The image does not need to be pornographic to be intimate. An 'intimate image' means an image (or altered image) of a person's private parts, or of a person engaged in a private act where they would reasonably expect to be afforded privacy. Examples include showering, bathing, using the toilet, engaging in a sexual act, or any other similar activity. 

What to do:

If you experience sexual extortion, ensure you record communications as evidence:

• Save text messages, voicemail and/or photos, including dates and times
• Use screenshots and save the image as the date and time it was taken (include the URL in the screenshot where possible)
• Do not pay or send any more images or  videos yourself
• Stop all contact with the blackmailer
• Notify the relevant social media platform
• Change the passwords for your social media and online accounts and review the privacy and security settings of your accounts
• Get support from a trusted friend or family member, or from an expert counselling and support service if you are feeling anxious or stressed.
• Report to the NSW Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or to your local police station. You may also call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Contract cheating companies (often disguised as tutoring companies) are known to take your money and cheat you out of the education you deserve. Unscrupulous contract cheating companies, such as ‘HD Education’, position themselves as being officially connected to UNSW and can put you in danger of blackmail, identity theft, and being in breach of the UNSW Student Code of Conduct and Values. They are not connected to the University in any way. 

Commercial academic cheating services are illegal in Australia, with penalties of up to two years in jail for anybody found to be providing this service. If you use cheating services, you could: 

• fail your subject or course 
• be suspended or excluded from university 
• lose your visa 
• lose your professional accreditation 
• be blackmailed by cheating service operators.

Contract cheating scammers may also pretend to be students, attending campus and targeting international students to get them to sign up to groups on social media by scanning a QR code. 

If you are being blackmailed, please report this to the Conduct & Integrity Office (CIO) as soon as possible. You can also contact Arc Legal & Advocacy for advice about academic misconduct and how to get help from UNSW. 

If you require academic support, book an appointment with an Academic Learning Facilitator instead. 

Beware of scammers who offer to alter your academic records for money on WeChat. They falsely claim they can change grades, secure fee remission, or amend student records in exchange for money. No services or companies outside of UNSW can influence or guarantee the outcomes of Fee Remission, Review of Results, or change any aspects of student records.

Victims of this scam are usually approached by a person or 'agent' claiming to be from an educational organisation that focuses on helping underperforming students. They may also pretend to be students and join WeChat groups to look for their targets and approach individual students separately by sending them friend requests.

Tips

• Decline friend requests from unknown users or suspicious accounts
• Be cautious when sending messages in WeChat groups
• Avoid sharing personal information on social media with strangers.

Money mules are individuals recruited by criminals to receive and transfer stolen money. Often targeted through online and in-person offers, these mules unknowingly assist in money laundering and other illegal activities.

What happens?

• Victims are approached via social media, email, online pop-up ads or fake job offers (e.g. money transfer agents)
• The money being transferred is often used by criminals to fund other serious crimes like cybercrime, terrorism, and human trafficking.
• In Australia, participating in money muling is a serious criminal offence. If convicted, you can face anywhere from 12 months to life in prison.

Tips

• Reflect on whether the offer is too good to be true - be on guard
• Do not engage with any online posts offering large sums of money
• Do not share your personal and banking details with anyone you don't know of trust, even among friends or family.

Mandarin speakers are being targeted by scammers using pre-recorded messages about a parcel being on hold, left as voicemail or through messaging platforms. This is followed by threats from false Chinese authorities claiming that victims have been implicated in a crime and that a parcel with their name on it has been intercepted. 

Victims are told they must transfer large sums of money to prevent themselves or any of their family or friends from being deported or charged. This is always a lie.

What to do

• Hang up immediately if you receive such a call
• Report the incident to ScamWatch and NSW Police
• Never provide personal, credit card, or online account details over the phone.