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BBB: Scammers Targeting Springfield College Students on Rent, Job Offers

College students in Springfield have fallen prey to rental and employment scams in recent months, according to the BBB.
KSMU
College students in Springfield have fallen prey to rental and employment scams in recent months, according to the BBB.
College students in Springfield have fallen prey to rental and employment scams in recent months, according to the BBB.
Credit KSMU
College students in Springfield have fallen prey to rental and employment scams in recent months, according to the BBB.

According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers are targeting college students in Springfield.

These scams are calls, texts, and emails that usually try to trick someone out of their money.

The BBB’s Regional Director in Springfield, Stephanie Garland, says that college students are more likely to fall for these scams than any other group—that’s because they are generally in a hurry and don’t take the time to do their research, she said.

Garland added that there are rental scams in and around Springfield college campuses.

“They’re going to have these online ads that are going to say ‘Beautiful homes, low rental places, great amenities.’ But, of course, everything is going to be online. They’re going to be too good to be true," Garland said.

She said many students have paid money through these online sites, only to find when they moved to Springfield that the property had been rented to someone else.

Other scams that college students are seeing are employment scams, where students are offered flexible hours and may even be sent a fake check, followed by a request for money.

On the Missouri State University campus, we asked students whether they had been targeted by scammers.

Senior animal science major Monica Gerkin, from Nevada, Missouri, said she had.

“I get text messages that say, like, 'Hi, Jodie! This and this and this happened, and we’re here to support it for you.' And I’m like, 'My name isn’t Jodie,'" Gerkin said.

Safety experts say to be on the lookout for bad spelling, bad grammar, and pushiness. Also, you can check to see if the beginning of a web address says HTTPS, rather than simply HTTP—that “S” means it’s more secure.

You can find more information on these scammers by clicking here.

Copyright 2021 KSMU. To see more, visit KSMU.

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