CONSUMER FIRST ALERT: Scams tailored to college students

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - August means back-to-school time. A lot of college students will be heading back to college or leaving home for the first time.

College kids, while tech-savvy, are not immune from being scammed out of their personal information or even their money.

On Action 2 News at 4:30, Cami Rapson talked with Susan Bach of the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau about some of the scams tailored to college students, including:

• Phishing scams that look like an urgent request from the financial aid office
• A warning that something is wrong with your computer on the campus network
• Emails or phone calls offering grants and scholarships or promises to reduce loan payments
• Credit card applications -- that are legitimate -- can help you establish credit, but beware of bogus applications that would be getting your personal information
• Shopping deals and sales through social media. Beware of sellers that won’t take credit cards (which give you some recourse if you don’t get your stuff). If you pay with a gift card or Venmo, that money is gone and probably unrecoverable as soon as you hit send.

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