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June 28, 2007

Crime

Student almost money-order fraud victim

Police warn students to be wary of people asking for money or personal info.

Story by: Diana Golobay

The Shorthorn staff

After receiving a report of a money-order scam Monday, assistant police chief Rick Gomez and apartment coordinator Molly Albart warn students to be cautious.

A student, whose name could not be given Wednesday, was the victim of an attempted scam that was stopped at the doors of a bank.

According to the police report, the student had been corresponding via e-mail with the suspect, who was posing as a potential roommate. Gomez said the student found the suspect’s information on http://www.roommates.com while looking to sublet her apartment. The suspect paid rent in advance by sending the student five $850 money orders.

“When [the student] went to cash them, the bank detected they were forged and confiscated them without cashing them,” Gomez said.

The suspect asked the student to cash the money orders and return extra money via Western Union to the suspect’s Australia address. That’s where this should have ended, Gomez said.

“There’s been other scams where people from out of the country will send a letter saying you’ve won some kind of lottery, but in order to get the money, you have to send some cash money for tax purposes,” he said. “People get jilted out of thousands of dollars.”

Gomez said students should be cautious. He said that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

“One thing students should be wary of is if someone calls explaining they’ve won the lottery and starts asking for personal info such as their social security number,” he said. “Never give it out. Once they have your social, they can pretty much do anything.”

The student who received the forged money orders didn’t lose money. Gomez said the case will be turned over to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which he described as “like the U.S. postal police department.”

The report didn’t state whether the student lived in university housing. Although apartment leaseholders are not allowed to sublet, residents are still subject to unreliable roommates. Albart advised tenants to choose roommates carefully.

“You have to rely on occupants,” she said. “Find a roommate that you know and can trust.”

Albart urged tenants to take advantage of the Housing Department’s online resources. She said the department offers a handbook that outlines several questions tenants can ask a prospective roommate.

She advised students about to enter into a living arrangement to draw up a signed agreement about financial obligations and who would be responsible for finding a replacement tenant should the contract be broken before the lease is up. She said she had nothing bad to say about using an online source to find a roommate but hopes students will protect themselves.

“If that’s the route students want to take, then have something in writing before entering into an agreement,” she said.