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Seven students have become victims of scams run on campus in the last month, with one student reportedly losing almost $2,000 to a scammer claiming to be raising money for a non-existent magazine subscription fundraiser.
Don Enloe, director of Campus Safety, said most of the losses were between $50 and $100.
However, there was an unconfirmed report of one victim losing as much as $1,900 to a scammer who approached her on East Evans Avenue.
Enloe said the scammers told their victims that they were students and were selling magazine subscriptions to raise money for a university related activity. The victims usually handed over cash for a fake subscription. The victims were told they could cancel later and get their money back.
Campus Safety issued a crime alert e-mail to students, faculty and staff on April 21 about the cons.
The e-mailed alert warned that the fraud could range from phony magazine subscriptions to “cashing fraudulent checks or borrowing money.”
Enloe said the scams are nothing new.
“It’s the same thing they do every year, its just all hitting us at once here this spring. It’s a little frustrating,” Enloe said.
According to reports, the scammers have hustled students near the Driscoll Center and along Evans Avenue. The most recent successful fraud occurred April 20.
The problem is not isolated to DU, either, according to Enloe.
“As far as we know, there are two or three different groups that are working the whole metro area right now. A couple of other campuses are having the same problems,” he said.
So far, no arrests have been made.
“It’s hard for us to do much more than educate the community,” Enloe said, “because the people who are doing these cons look like students and act like students and they will only approach students. The only thing we can do is hope that when people are approached that they tell [the con artist] no and immediately contact campus safety so that we can get over there as soon as possible and hopefully contact these people.”
The crime alert advised students to “stay alert” and to “be suspicious of persons soliciting magazine sales… [or] cash donations for charities.”
hese types of solicitations are barred on campus, according to the e-mail.
Anyone with information that might help in this case is asked to contact Campus Safety Investigator Albert Monger at 303-871-4226 or the Denver Police Department at 720-913-2000.
