Scams and Fraud

The ISO wants to remind all members of the MIT community to beware of being a target of a scam, whether by email, phone, or by postal mail.

Scams and fraud can happen at any time during the year, not just during tax season or the holiday season. Never give out your name or the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number (SSN), your bank info, or any personal information (unless you yourself are making a request).

If you ever receive a threatening phone call, email, or letter, remember these three steps to protect yourself from scams:

Please remain calm
Do not give out any personal or financial/bank information if you are contacted by an unsolicited email, phone call, or text message.
If the caller is using high-pressure statements to get you to act quickly, then hang up the phone.
If unsure if the contact may be legitimate, hang up and call the company or agency directly using the phone number listed on their official website (not the number or email provided by the caller/emailer)
Notify the ISO immediately!

*If any questions arise or if you want to check that an inquiry is legitimate and not a scam, please contact your ISO Advisor by email or contact the ISO by phone (617-253-3795).

Read below for more info about common scams.

SSN status, Calls from Government, Courier companies, and other common Scams

The ISO has received new reports of some common scam phonecalls that are targeting international students (though some of these calls have also been received by ISO Staff). We wanted to send out this alert and reminder to be very careful when you receive phonecalls, emails, or letters from organizations/individuals that you were not expecting to receive that ask you to provide financial or personal information. They may be Scams.

Here are some of the recent scams that have been reported:

Social Security Number status will be cancelled/suspended – First, a person’s Social Security Number cannot be suspended, and you would not receive a phone call from the Social Security Administration or another agency to notify you of an issue with your Social Security Number. The current scam claims that you are under investigation for your Social Security Number to be used in a fraud or a crime, and that it will be suspended. The caller indicates that in order to resolve the issue you must provide personal information, including the Social Security Number, as well as possibly pay a fine over the phone. The caller also indicates this is urgent because you would otherwise need to go to court to resolve the issue. This is a SCAM. You should just hang up the phone. If you are concerned that the caller may have your Social Security Number information, you can report this scam to the Social Security Administration office in Cambridge.

Home Country Officers/Police – There are recent reports of new scams targeting international students through social media or phone with scammers posing as an officer from their home country Consulate or home country police. The scammers claim that the student owes money for unpaid fines and threaten to arrest or deport the student if they do not provide payment or personal identifiable information. Previously, most scammers posed as US officials and not home country officers. We have heard a number of recent reports of this scam (primarily from students from China, but have also heard about reports of individuals from other countries).

Package Courier Companies – Students should also be careful if you receive a call from someone indicating they are from package couriers or express mail companies asking for funds or personal identifiable information. If you receive such a call or contact, you may wish to thank the caller and then you can hang up the phone and contact the shipping company directly to ensure the issue is real. Do not use the phone number provided by the caller, but rather go in person to your local carrier or use the official company contact number on their official website.

Phone Number on Caller ID is the actual number of the Police Department or Government Agency – One of the strengths of many of these scams is that the caller ID indicates the phone number is actually from the local police department or government agency. We have had a number of scams where the number that appears is the actual number of the Cambridge Police Department, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or the U.S. Department of State. It is very easy to program a caller ID to appear as a specific number when the caller is actually calling by a different number. When you receive a call, say thank you for calling, ask for their phone number and the name of the officer, and say you will be happy to give them a call back after talking with the MIT International Students Office. If the caller says you may not do that, it is a scam. Government agencies are fine with you calling back after speaking with the ISO — the agencies are aware that these scams exist. The ISO can help you, if needed, to contact the appropriate agency if you want to verify if the call is a scam or not.

Payments to a company, government agency by Gift Cards, Money Transfers, or Cryptocurrency
We have had a number of reports of individuals contacting students requesting payment for some made up requirement, and asking for the payment to be made by gift cards, direct money transfer or Western Union, or by cryptocurrency. Legitimate companies and U.S. government agencies will never ask for payment by gift card, money transfer, or cryptocurrency, so such requests should be a big signal that this is likely a scam.

*How to Recognize a Phone Scam
*Current Scam Alerts
*List of Common Scams
*Federal Trade Commission – Additional resources: https://www.identitytheft.gov
*Security and Privacy Tips from Amazon.com