A scam that so far has hit several male students at Carnegie Mellon University typically begins with an approach on social media from someone claiming to be a woman who is interested romantically, campus police said.
Victims in some cases are sent explicit photos from the suspect over a platform such as Facebook.
"After a brief conversation, the victims are then asked to continue the conversations via Skype or Facebook Messenger," Chief of University Police Tom Ogden wrote in an email to the campus Monday night. "The victims then are encouraged to remove their clothes and/or perform sexual acts in view of the camera."
Then the shakedown starts.
An unknown individual contacts the student, claims to have recorded the acts and "demands money to prevent the release of the recording," Chief Ogden wrote. "Some of the victims were told the video would be posted on social media and/or sent to friends and family if payment was not made."
The incidents occurred over the weekend, said Julianne Mattera, a CMU spokeswoman.
"Carnegie Mellon University students did not lose money in this recent scam," she said Tuesday afternoon. "When a similar scam occurred at Carnegie Mellon and other schools in 2016, some victims did lose money."
Each fall, tens of thousands of college students who arrive in Pittsburgh — some living away from home for the first time — become attractive targets for scammers who find the internet and social media useful tools. Some schemes threaten prosecution for bogus crimes, exploit international students’ fears of deportation, make false job offers or use sex to entrap their victims.
"We are urging you to be careful about your online activities and to be skeptical of requests to perform acts on camera," Chief Ogden wrote. "Remember, once photos or videos are made available to others via the internet, it may be difficult to prevent disclosure and dissemination of the content."
Phones are an effective way for criminals to reach unwitting students, too. This year and last, a series of phone scams led police to alert international students on campuses in New York, Iowa and Pennsylvania, including Carnegie Mellon.
Chief Ogden urged anyone experiencing an approach like those that have hit campus of late, or who have information about them, to contact CMU police at 412-268-2323 and/or the Office of Title IX Initiatives at 412-268-7125. He said reports are handled discreetly.
Bill Schackner: bschackner@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1977 and on Twitter: @Bschackner
First Published: September 10, 2019, 1:56 p.m.
