In the online era, it’s easier than ever for scammers – fraudsters extracting money from victims under false pretenses – to find targets. All that needs to be done is to scour the internet for any open links with open posting privileges, and plant a seed by claiming whatever they’d like. Conning only one person might not bear fruit, but at scale, hundreds or thousands of rolls of the metaphorical die are bound to roll high at some point. Of course, this assumes you’re planting these seeds in fertile soil. Scams prey on idealists with cash to spare, and crooks have found luck at Glendale Community College.
A scam works via a simple tactic dating back to the earliest days of man: The lie. An infamous trick is the 419-scam – more commonly known as the “Nigerian Prince” scam – where a fraudster claims to be a wealthy business owner or royalty imprisoned in another country who needs money to post bail, promising to pay the target back once they’re freed. If the victim pays, then the scammer bombards them with further lies to extract more cash. They’ve posted bail, certainly, but now they need $10,000 to cover bank transfer fees. The scammer will continue to lie until they’ve squeezed the lemon dry or been sussed out, then bail. Most victims are either desperate to turn financial misfortune around, or simply unaware of what’s happening; few are able to retrieve their money.
Online scams are nothing new. In 2023, online scams surged to over $2 billion stolen in California alone, according to statistics released by the FBI; that’s nearly one-sixth of the national estimate of over $12.5 billion. It’s no coincidence that GCC’s IT department has sent multiple emails warning students of phishing attempts during the past semesters. “Numerous fraudulent emails… inundated student mailboxes over the past few days,” writes Director of Network, Systems, and Support Services Lawrence Lampietti in one. “These deceptive emails typically impersonate instructors and promise lucrative job opportunities, claiming to offer hundreds of dollars per week. This is a scam.”
Nevertheless, scammers have claimed victims at GCC. “I had an issue last semester where a guy was selling books, and he took my credit card,” said Maj, a GCC alumni. “[He] wouldn’t give it back, then tried to charge me $100 as a donation fee.” Additionally, the Discord server for the Sexuality And Gender Alliance Club (SAGA) is infested with automated bots. A nondescript ‘Becky’ joins and immediately posts that she has tickets for sale to a concert happening soon. “same bot from my server sigh [sic],” bemoans a student. A user named ‘Rosa’ joins and claims she’s giving out a Macbook Air 2020 for free if you only email her. Five days later, ‘George’ joins and posts the exact same message word-for-word.
These scams work, as exemplified by the plight of a third-year student who’d been conned by one of these false ticket-sellers, speaking on condition of anonymity. A bot had joined a GCC club server and advertised Olivia Rodrigo tickets. The victim messaged them about pricing, and eventually they moved their conversation to text. Screenshots of tickets and a seemingly-official GCC email account convinced her of the transaction’s legitimacy, but after she sent the money, “she kept bringing up issues about why she couldn’t send me the tickets. Then she tried to get me to send more money because of supposed issues with her bank… From there, I ended the conversation and blocked her.” She never got her money back, but the club president did block the scammer.
Of course, students aren’t helpless to protect themselves from scams. A vigilant eye and familiarity with common tricks can make it easier to tell fact from fraud. Scammers usually don’t ask for a specific amount of money up front, instead trying to determine how much they can squeeze. Almost anything valuable given away for free in an unusual place, such as a Macbook in a GCC club server, is likely to be false. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. It doesn’t hurt to inspect profiles of online personalities, too – a recently-created account with a default profile picture is far more likely to be an automated bot than an old account with real personality. Do they only talk about selling things? Likely a scam. Are you being threatened to pay now or face consequences? Likely a scam. Especially be wary if you’re asked to pay through an unconventional method, such as iTunes or Steam gift cards. And especially don’t trust anyone who claims that if you pay them now, they’ll pay you double, even if they are foreign royalty.
Scams are easily defeated once one’s aware of the signs; there’s a reason fraudsters try to reach as many people as possible, rather than focusing efforts on breaking down one individual. Protecting yourself is simple, says Lampietti in an anti-phishing email. “Don’t reply, don’t click on any links, and definitely don’t share any personal information. Just hit delete. If you need clarification on an email’s legitimacy, contact the GCC Helpdesk for guidance.” When in doubt, trust your gut if an offer seems off – and verify the senders of emails before you do anything else. If you’re still unsure, the help desk can be contacted at [email protected].
Morgan Rodberg can be reached at [email protected].