Hunter
05/04/23
The University of Iowa Department of Public Safety says parents of students were targeted in a recent phone scam.
The Daily Iowan reports that the scam was first reported on April 21. Perpetrators called parents of UI students impersonating a UI Police Department officer. The scammer told the parents their child had gotten into trouble, and they need to provide finances for damages caused by their child.
The parents would see the legitimate, non-emergency phone number of the police department on their caller ID, with the scammers using a fake officer name when contacting parents.
Hayley Bruce is the Department of Public Safety’s assistant director for communication and external relations. She told the DI in an email that although the scam is known to other law enforcement agencies across the country, it has not happened here before.
The incidents remain under investigation.