Common fraud dealt by UM’s International Student

by Zhang Xinyue - November 15, 2023

Photo from perkingthepansies.com

UNIVERSITI MALAYA –Telecommunication fraud cases against international students have been common in recent years. We interviewed two Chinese students, Yuzuo and Ziheng, who had the same experience.

According to Yuzuo and Ziheng, their rental contract was due to expire on October 30, 2023, and they explained to the landlord that they wanted to renew the lease one month in advance. The landlord asked them to pay the normal rent after the expiration date and did not mention anything about signing a renewal contract. A week later, the landlord suddenly asked them to move out of the apartment and said that he would not sign a renewal contract with them, Yuzuo and Ziheng had no choice but to find a new place to live and move out very quickly, return the rent and clean up the house as required. As all the transactions and contracts were done online, the landlord started not answering the phone or replying to messages on various excuses, and the deposit of RM 12,250 was not refunded by the landlord. Until now, no matter how to contact the landlord's WhatsApp will always show online do not reply.

It is understood that, in addition to the fraudsters, the fraudulent means are the following.

1.Scholarship fraud.

These people will claim to be the staff of the school, informing the international students that there is a scholarship to be received, and then will notify the students by phone, SMS, email and other ways. The scammers will then ask the students to activate the scholarship with money, send SMS or log on some websites in order to get the scholarship.

      As a matter of fact, scholarship notifications are sent out by official school emails and will not be communicated to you through phone calls and text messages.

2.Scam that carried out by disguising as official personnel.

Scammers usually use the identity of embassies and police to falsify facts and create traps, claiming that the victim has committed a major crime or has important documents seized and will be restricted from entering or leaving the country, etc., and use various ways to get personal information of international students. Some of them even call the parents of the students, saying that their children have committed a crime abroad and need to transfer money to deal with it.

3.Payment of fees.

Crooks will use the reason that the foreign students' personal foreign exchange limit is insufficient to help them pay tuition fees or other large fees on behalf of the foreign students, and they will use a third-party credit card to "really pay on behalf of the foreign students" and send a screenshot of the payment. After the international student pays the equivalent amount of money to the scammer, the scammer will contact the credit card company to cancel the transaction and then blackmail the international student.

Many scammers take advantage of international students' unfamiliarity with foreign laws and societies, as well as their fear of the government and police, to trick them into providing personal information, transferring money, downloading malware, and so on. These scams are often carried out in the name of organizations posing as embassies, consulates, schools, police, etc., making it difficult for international students to distinguish between the real and the fake.

Meanwhile, when international students are studying abroad, their passports, visas, bank accounts and other information are closely related to their study life, making them easier targets for scammers. They often take advantage of the panic and anxiety of international students and make them fall into the scam unknowingly by means of intimidation and threats. The behavior of these scammers not only causes financial losses, but also brings mental trauma and security risks to international students.

What can we do to prevent scams?

1. When faced with scams, we need to be alert at all times. We should not fall prey to the temptation of cheapness, convenience or pornography, and we should not be afraid of intimidation or unconfirmed things.

2. We need to protect our personal information and credit card information. We should not easily leave our phone numbers and addresses, and avoid entering personal information on websites we do not understand. Do not let your bank card out of sight when you go out to make purchases. If a credit card is found to have been stolen, contact the bank to freeze it and tell them that it has been stolen.

3. Keep in touch with your parents, communicate with them about scams abroad, and give them the contact information of your friends abroad, just in case. If you find a scam or hear that a family member has been scammed, immediately report the case to the police and contact the bank that opened the account to report my account and take appropriate measures such as stop payment and freezing.

Internet scams not only cost students money, but also traumatize many new international students, making them a security risk. It is hoped that international students who have encountered online scams can step out of the psychological shadow; students who have not encountered online scams can take this as an example and be more alert to online scams.