More than 90 University of Washington students from China may have fallen victim to a scammer who stole their tuition money by promising the students a 5 percent reimbursement, according to the University of Washington Police.
Police have verified 19 International Student had their accounts fraudulently accessed, which took more than $11,000 from each of the victims, but police believe that there are many more, according to KOMO News.
The International Students wrote checks for the amount of their summer quarter tuition and gave their student registration information to the alleged scammer, who presented herself as a leader of a student organization, according to KING 5.
The woman allegedly told the students that she would pay their tuition via credit cards, and through her connections get the reimbursement for the students, students told reporters.
But neither the students nor the university received the money.
The tuition was paid through stolen credit card numbers from New York, so the students initially received notification of payment, but the fraudulent payments were later rejected, police told reporters. The students only discovered the scheme when they were told by the university that payment was due.
No arrests have been made in the case.
Last month, both UW Police and UW International Student Services warned students about the scheme, warning students to never share their student account information.
Related
KING 5: Alleged fraud scheme targeted Chinese students at UW
KOMO News: Scammers target Chinese University of Washington students
