Online scams are on the rise and students are not exempt from their deception.
Although the internet is no stranger to scams, it has seen an increase in recent years. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, a 2024 study reported losses exceeding $16 billion in internet scams, which is a 33% increase in losses from 2023.
According to Pew Research Center, 21% of U.S. adults have lost money due to online scams or attacks and about 24% said they received some type of scam email, text or call that led them to share their personal information.
"One thing that I find extremely alarming is the rate of change and how the tactics are changing right now," Alexander Neff, an information technology instructor, said. "AI has kind of rewritten the rulebook on how attackers are trying to go after anybody — students included."
In an ever growing technological age, the internet has become a nest for online and digital scams, with younger generations being more susceptible targets.
A 2023 survey from Deloitte found that members of Gen Z are more than twice as likely to fall for online scams, have a social media account or device hacked, or have their identity stolen compared to baby boomers.
Student-geared scamming tactics
Most scams are intended to get personal information or other resources from people in order to get their money, ASU Police Department Detective Jason Anderson said.
The way scammers try to get information from students specifically can vary from emails about fake job opportunities to selling fake concert tickets, Anderson said.
"Some of them are real slick with trying to get your personal information, then using that to get money," Anderson said. "Some of them are just very bold and just go straight to the point."
Other scams can include fake gift cards, fake items on consumer-to-consumer purchasing sites like Facebook Marketplace and even student loan scams.
Mass emails and text message scams are common and typically sent to try to bait as many people as possible.
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"It's the equivalent of throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks," Anderson said.
Students have even reported receiving scam messages on collaborative messaging apps.
Sapphire Beneda, a graduate student studying social justice and human rights, has been active in the ASU chat on GroupMe for over a year and received messages offering a new phone.
Beneda said first the scammer reached out via private message and asked for information such as student email and shipping information.
"They said they used to be a student. I don't believe that," Beneda said.
Based on what has been reported to the ASU PD, most of the online scams are generated from outside the country, Anderson said.
"Sometimes, IP addresses will usually tell us where the originator came from, depending on how skilled they are using a computer," Anderson said.
How students can stay safe
As online scam tactics are always changing, staying up to date on what techniques are trending can help students protect themselves.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency offers resources and tools to stay up to date on public advisories related to online scams and allows readers to know about trending scams, Neff said.
ASU also offers its Get Protected service, which offers students security knowledge training and resources to report online scams.
On a day-to-day basis, students can simply double check the person or company on any text or email as a helpful habit to ensure the sender is legitimate, Anderson said.
Other red flags to look out for are job offers from places "you didn't specifically apply to," job interviews conducted over email or text or if offers were sent to more than one person, Anderson said.
Protecting personal information is a crucial step for safety against online attackers.
"What's really important is that you understand the information that is valuable to you and with that information, you put that much more effort to protect it," Neff said.
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Senna James and Sophia Braccio.
Reach the reporter at dbell39@asu.edu and follow @dhemibell on X.
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Dhemi Bell is a reporter on the Community and Culture desk at The State Press. She is a second-year at Arizona State University. This is her first semester with The State Press.
