here's how it works someone contacts a
student via Facebook Twitter or
Instagram and sets up a deal let me use
your debit account to deposit a check
and I'll give you half the money I
deposit if the victim agrees there's
often a deposit in the bank account
followed swiftly by a withdrawal the
victim thinks that they're going to get
a portion of that deposited item but
they never do
when the deposit turns out to have been
a counterfeit check the deposit
evaporates and the victim is on the hook
for any money withdrawn from the account
the scam is not just spreading on social
media postal inspectors say scammers are
also soliciting victims at college
campus parties they'll demonstrate that
they have a lot of money they'll throw
wads of cash around and and and act in
that manner to try and entice people to
give up their ATM cards ring leaders
target college students because they
think they could be easily convinced
that their only role is to allow use of
their account and that they will get to
keep half of the money early 20s maybe a
little less mature and don't really
understand the banking system and may
need a way to get some money they may be
college students for example or young
adults that that need cash
but victims are not just depositing the
fake checks they're giving scammers
access to their bank accounts there are
many different versions of the crime
there are in in some instances where
where young adults thought that they
were applying for a college grant and in
reality they were being asked to provide
their debit cards while most people
might find it hard to believe anyone
would hand over their ATM information
inspectors say many students are often
naive about finances when you go off
directly to college from high school
that's a big transition from you know
being under your parent's rough to you
know potentially going out to to a
college campus as an 18 year old with
very little life experience and almost
no knowledge of the banking system
there are many long-term effects
including years of credit score problems
and the future employers aren't going to
look very
kindly upon someone that's involved in a
criminal scheme authorities say it's
important for parents to advise their
college-age students how to protect
their personal information while they're
at school they need to keep their debit
cards in their wallets or in their
purses and never relinquish control of
it because only bad things can happen if
you do that if you give it to a stranger
you're opening up a whole Pandora's box
of potential problems