To: UC Santa Cruz Community

From: Mary Garcia, Interim Chief of Police

Re: Instagram Admissions Scam

 

Please be aware of a fake Instagram account that has been created to target students and try to scam them. The fake Instagram account is @ucscadmission and they are trying to mimic the legitimate @ucscadmissions account. Currently, the real UCSC Admissions Instagram account has a giveaway going on, and the fake account is trying to collect credit card information from Instagram followers. Please reference the photos for the fake vs real UCSC admissions account. If you follow UCSC Admissions on Instagram, please double check which Instagram account you are following.

Here are links to our UCSC PD scam page, as well as the UCSC ITS scam page, so that you can submit the information first hand:
https://police.ucsc.edu/crime-prevention/scams.html
https://its.ucsc.edu/security/report.html
If you believe you have been a victim of fraud or identity theft, immediately notify your local police jurisdiction and cease all contact with the suspect organization. You can also contact the UC Santa Cruz Police Department Dispatch Center to speak with an officer at 831-459-2231 (option 1).

For more information:
You can also find valuable information at BBB.org/AvoidScams. More information on phishing and scams.

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