It has come to the attention of ISSS that there is a CU Boulder-related phone scam impacting the international student population. Scammers are calling international students using a number that appears to be a CU Boulder phone number. This is called . Scam callers are telling students that they have an unpaid CU Boulder fee, and failure to pay the fee will result in immediate deportation. Scam callers are asking for students' passport and visa information before prompting the student to send money through Zelle.  

If you receive such a call, it is a scam! Follow the below guidance if you receive a threatening call or message from someone claiming to be a CU Boulder official: 

• Do not give the person any personal or financial information.  

• Try to collect contact information from the caller.  

• End the conversation immediately if threats and intimidation persist.  

• Contact ISSS and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s .  

• Consider reporting the scam by following the instructions outlined on the ISSS Protect Yourself from Scams webpage. 

For more information on protecting yourself from scams, review the ISSS Protect Yourself from Scams webpage. 

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A graduating international student reported the following fake job offer scam--

The student was approached and interviewed by a person who represented himself from the company's recruiting team. After the interview, the student was offered a job and sent an appointment letter to sign. After a discussion with the Hiring Manager, the student signed the offer letter and was asked to provide their passport. They were also sent a digital check and asked to deposit the money in their bank account to purchase work equipment.

How To Avoid a Job Scam

Before you accept a job offer, take these steps to avoid common job scams:

• Search online. Look up the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” See if others say they’ve been scammed by that company or person. No complaints? It doesn’t guarantee that a company is honest, but complaints can tip you off to possible problems.
• Talk to someone you trust. Describe the offer to them. What do they think? This also helps give you vital time to think about the offer.
• Don't pay for the promise of a job. Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. Anyone who does is a scammer.
• Never bank on a “cleared” check. No honest potential employer will ever send you a check to deposit and then tell you to send on part of the money, or buy with it. That’s a . The check will bounce, and the bank will want you to repay the amount of the fake check.

What To Do if You Paid a Scammer

No matter how you paid — , or , , cash reload card, or — immediately contact the company you used to send the money, report the fraud, and ask to have the transaction reversed, if possible. For specific advice on how to reverse different types of payments, read .

Additional Resources

• Employment-Related Phishing Emails and Scams
• Protect Yourself from Scams

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Job scams are a common way criminals seek to gain personal information and money from targets. When searching for a job, start with safe and reliable sources--e.g., Handshake, . Be wary of any employment opportunities presented in emails, especially if you did not seek the opportunity.

How To Avoid a Job Scam

Before you accept a job offer, take these steps to avoid common job scams:

• Search online. Look up the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” See if others say they’ve been scammed by that company or person. No complaints? It doesn’t guarantee that a company is honest, but complaints can tip you off to possible problems.
• Talk to someone you trust. Describe the offer to them. What do they think? This also helps give you vital time to think about the offer.
• Don't pay for the promise of a job. Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job. Anyone who does is a scammer.
• Never bank on a “cleared” check. No honest potential employer will ever send you a check to deposit and then tell you to send on part of the money, or buy with it. That’s a . The check will bounce, and the bank will want you to repay the amount of the fake check.

What To Do if You Paid a Scammer

No matter how you paid — , or , , cash reload card, or — immediately contact the company you used to send the money, report the fraud, and ask to have the transaction reversed, if possible. For specific advice on how to reverse different types of payments, read .

Additional Resources

• Employment-Related Phishing Emails and Scams
• Protect Yourself from Scams

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Cyber kidnapping is an extortion scheme in which a cybercriminal calls a target and says that they kidnapped a family member and demand money for the family member’s release. Sometimes they use AI to clone the family member’s voice or alter photographs to make it look like a family member is in danger. 

In a recent case, an international high school exchange student was contacted by cyber criminals and told that he had to isolate himself or his family would be harmed. The student disappeared without telling his homestay family and hid outside of town in a tent. The criminal then contacted the family of the student and said they had kidnapped him and demanded ransom money for his safe return. As the family was unable to reach their son, they paid a large sum of money to the supposed kidnappers.

Like other scams, the cyber kidnapper usually calls the target and insists on keeping them on the phone so they cannot contact the family member or police. 

CUPD Commander Eric Edford has some advice for you to share with your family. He suggests telling your family members that if they ever receive a call from someone saying you are kidnapped or in danger, they can always call CUPD to request a welfare check on you. From outside the U.S., they can call the CUPD non-emergency number 303-492-6666. In addition, if you receive a scam call, you or a friend can also call or text 9-1-1 to have police respond. Texting may be especially useful if you do not feel safe getting off the phone.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provides the following advice to avoid becoming a victim:

“If you receive a phone call from someone demanding a ransom for an alleged kidnap victim, the following should be considered:

• In most cases, the best course of action is to hang up the phone.
• If you do engage the caller, don’t call out your loved one’s name.
• Try to slow the situation down. Request to speak to your family member directly. Ask, “How do I know my loved one is okay?”
• Ask questions only the alleged kidnap victim would know, such as the name of a pet. Avoid sharing information about yourself or your family.
• Listen carefully to the voice of the alleged victim if they speak.
• Attempt to contact the alleged victim via phone, text, or social media, and request that they call back from their cell phone.
• To buy time, repeat the caller’s request and tell them you are writing down the demand, or tell the caller you need time to get things moving.
• Don’t agree to pay a ransom, by wire or in person. Delivering money in person can be dangerous.”

For additional information, see the and this FBI flyer about Virtual Kidnapping.

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The �������� is often the target of attempts to gain personal information through malicious emails, also known as phishing. Recently, ISSS has noticed an increasing number of employment-related phishing emails being sent to our international students. Additionally, these emails appear to be sent from colorado.edu email addresses which makes them particularly difficult to identify as fraudulent.

ISSS recognizes that employment opportunities may be enticing. However, we want to encourage you to be wary of any employment opportunities presented in suspicious emails.

If you receive a suspicious email, do not reply, click any links, or open any attachments. Instead, please report the message you suspect to be an email scam or phishing attack to the Office of Information Technology (OIT) by sending that message as an attachment to phish@colorado.edu. For instructions on sending the suspicious email as an attachment, please refer to

Additionally, some of the recently received emails have mentioned remote work opportunities. We want to remind you that as student in F-1 or J-1 student status, you are not permitted to work remotely from home for a position that is typically considered to be “off-campus.” However, if you have an on-campus job, remote work is permitted if the individual department allows it.

If you have any questions about potential phishing emails or employment authorization, please reach out to isss@colorado.edu.

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Several students have reported receiving scam a phone call from a number that is listed as USCIS (the caller information displayed is ). On the phone the students are being told they must complete the Form AR-11 (Change of Address with USCIS) and eventually the scammers will threaten deportation and ask for money in the form of gift cards. Last year, students experienced a similar scam via email.

If you receive a threatening call or message from someone claiming to be a U.S., state, or local government or law enforcement official, do not provide any personal or financial information and end the conversation immediately. You can then contact ISSS for additional support. The scammers will likely threaten you to not hang up the phone, but this is a tactic to try to intimidate you and keep you on the phone. The scammers may know information about you, which can make it seem like they are from the government. However, government agents and immigration officials will never call and ask for personal identifiable information over the phone. They will also never make threats of arrest or deportation over the phone and will never tell you that you cannot contact the ISSS office for help.

If you experience a scam, ISSS encourages you to report the scam to the local police in addition to any of the following offices: 

•  
•  
•  
• (if applicable) 
• (if applicable) 

If you released any information to a scam caller, please contact the following on-campus offices to seek additional support or assistance: 

• Office of Victim Assistance (OVA) 
•  
•  

You may also read about other common scams on

Please carefully review the ISSS website on scams to learn how to protect yourself.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers nationwide are continuing to receive numerous calls from residents concerned about unsolicited calls from scammers posing as U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Residents are reporting the calls are a pre-recorded message stating, “a box of drugs and money being shipped has your (callers) name on it and it has been intercepted.”  The caller is then instructed to press #1 to speak with a CBP Officer/Agent, which then attempts to get the callers banking information.  There have also been reports of this same type of scam, however, the caller is an actual person, not a pre-recorded message.

These calls, whether a pre-recorded message or live person, are phone scams/phishing attempts and residents are urged to not provide the caller with any information. The Department of Homeland Security and CBP does not solicit money over the phone.  If such calls are received, people should make a note of the number, any pertinent details about the call/caller, and immediately hang up.  Residents are encouraged to report the incidents as soon possible. Phone scams can be reported to the .

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A student recently reported receiving an email with the subject  "Failure to update AR-11 (Alien's change of address card) with USCIS."

The email appeared to be on USCIS letter head, referenced a case number, and threatens the punishment of fine, imprisonment, or removal from the U.S. It indicates that forwarding the email is a crime and asks the recipient to call a 1-877 number. This is a scam.

Do not respond to this email. If you received this email and did respond, please let ISSS know so that we can advise you on next steps.

If you believe that you received a scam email from USCIS, report it to the . If you are not sure if it is a scam, forward the suspicious email to the USCIS webmaster. USCIS will review the emails received and share with law enforcement agencies as appropriate.

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Be aware of an email phishing scam claiming to be soliciting applications for a UNICEF work-from-home job opportunity. It includes a letter attachment that appears to have been written by Etleva Kadilli, Director and Clinical Counselor of Supply Division of United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

• Scammers may attempt to convince individuals who respond to share their university credentials or provide some form of monetary payment.  

The following is an excerpt of the communication:

This is a very easy job. You will only help me purchase/receive some Items when needed and supply to any assigned Student and educational worker with disabilities. This employment only takes about an hour per day and 3 times a week with a $500.00 weekly pay.

I am unable to call you for an interview as I am currently away and helping the disabled students in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. You will be paid weekly for all tasks done on my behalf. Upon my arrival we will discuss the possibility of making this job a long-term employment.

To confirm your interest, kindly email me your Full Name | Age | Address | Alternate email address and your mobile number to my direct email xxxxx.

I will send you more details on the job description, duties and responsibilities as soon as I receive from you.

If you receive unsolicited, suspicious messages, please report them to the  .

ISSS strongly recommends that you do not reply to unsolicited emails or emails from unverifiable sources. If you were not expecting to receive such an email, confirm with the sender prior to interacting with the message. If you must interact with the message, avoid clicking on links contained in such emails. These may lead to sites that contain malicious software, or sites that attempt to steal your credentials. If a link looks suspicious, you can hover over the link with your mouse to preview the URL without clicking on it.

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It was reported to ISSS that a phishing email from CollegeLoans is circulating campus. This unsolicited email includes links to alleged student loans. An image of the email appears below (the links to the student loans have been removed).

Please be aware that scams are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated. Please check our scam page for more information on keeping yourself safe and steps for reporting scams.

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