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Protecting Yourself from Scams

What is a Scam?

Scams are dishonest (fraudulent) attempts to take money from people. This kind of fraud is illegal. Unfortunately, these lies are easy to fall for, and you might not know a phone call, email or interaction is fraudulent until it is too late. 

UC Davis and SISS hope that you will never be contacted by someone attempting to "scam" or defraud you of your money. Unfortunately, as is true anywhere in the world, there are people who attempt to take advantage of international students and scholars. Take precautions by being aware of what scams looks like and how to avoid them.

How to Tell if an Email, Text, Direct Message or Phone Call is a Scam

Scammers follow a similar pattern of behavior. Be aware of this pattern and end the conversation if you start to notice them or feel uncomfortable at any time. It looks like this:

"The 4 Ps"

PRETEND
  • Scammers lie about who they are. They pretend to be contacting you from a reputable organization, such as the government, UC Davis, a bank, a wireless carrier, a utility company, etc. 
  • Scammers can also make it look like they are contacting you from an email address or phone number within the organization. 
PROBLEM/PRIZE
  • Scammers come to you with either a problem you need to resolve or offer you something, such as money or a job. 
    • Whatever it is, it will be unexpected. 
  • In order to resolve the issue or accept the prize or job, they will ask you to provide one or more of the following: personal information, financial information, or money. 
PRESSURE
  • Scammers are successful when they can make people react without thinking. That is why they will use pressure to get you to do what they say. 
  • There will be an urgent deadline or they may threaten you with legal action or blackmail to arrest you, sue you, take away your driver’s or business license, or deport you. 
    • A scammer might say you are at risk of deportation, in trouble with the government or law enforcement, that there’s a family emergency, a computer virus, something wrong with your visa or that you owe money, and that you must act now to prevent harm or legal complications. 
PAY
  • You will be asked to provide something to the scammer, often related to money. 
  • Sometimes you’ll be asked to confirm your credit card or bank information, or asked to pay money by wire transfer, payment app or on a pre-paid gift card. 
  • Some may even try to get you to take their money and then pay it back to them. 

Resources