CAMPUS WATCH: Below is a summary of campus activity reported to or observed by the University Police Department patrol officers between Friday, 05-09-08 and Monday, 05-12-08. The following is from a UT staff member that was unaware of this Scam, but discovered a new twist. Graduates and parents please take notice of the following. To Whom It May Concern: This past week, my daughter, who has a BS and Masters degree in mathematics from UT Austin, was a victim of an Internet email scam that you may want to be aware of. She placed her resume on Craig's List for potential tutoring jobs to earn extra income. An individual claiming to be from England who would be moving his family to Austin in the fall contacted her. He said that he was sending his middle school-aged son to Austin with his nanny early in order for him to become familiar with the school system and to prepare for standardized tests that he would be required to take upon entering the Texas public school system. My daughter received three $1000 money orders as pre-payment for her tutoring services over the summer. She deposited the money orders into her UFCU checking account. Almost immediately after having done so, she received an email message from the father saying that two of the money orders were supposed to be for his son so that he would have cash upon arrival in Austin and would she please Western Union the money to Heathrow Airport in London, where his son's nanny would collect the money. Of course my daughter did this, but she thought it was a bit strange. Then, she received a text message on her cell phone saying that the money was not sent in time and would she please Western Union the money to a friend in Colorado. Again, my daughter did this. Shortly after having made this transaction, she received another email from the father saying that the friend would not be able to collect the money and would she send it to the Ukraine. Red flags were waving, but she did as directed. She confided to me while we were having dinner that she was very uncomfortable with what was being requested of her and that she would not make any more transfers if asked and would turn this guy over to the authorities. She suspected that he was laundering money or something similar. We told my husband about the situation, and he immediately called the FBI and was informed that this is a very common scam and that it involves counterfeit money orders. The scam artists target students and professionals who have their resumes posted online offering tutoring and other professional services. Fortunately for my daughter she was able to stop the transfer of money and return it to UFCU. If the money had been collected before the money orders were discovered to be counterfeit, she would have been responsible for repaying $3000 to the bank. A bank officer advised that money orders should be treated as personal checks and that one should not spend the money until the checks have cleared the bank. I thought you would want to be aware of the scam so that you could possibly warn UT students. This scam could affect undergraduate and graduate students who advertise online for tutoring jobs. This scam is successful for a couple of reasons, which are spelled out in the email from the staff member. Many people are unaware of this type of scam. People are confident that Money Orders are legal tender and will be honored by any bank. Money orders need to treated the same as any personal check. JESTER WEST DORMITORY, 201 East 21st Street Possession of Marijuana: A UT staff member discovered a very strong odor of burning marijuana coming from an 11th floor dormitory room. During the investigation, the officers identified three UT students inside the dormitory room and discovered a small plastic baggie that contained a green leafy substance that was identified as marijuana. One student admitted ownership of the marijuana and was taken into custody for Possession of Marijuana and was transported to Central booking. Occurred on: 5-11-08, at 11:00 PM. MAIN BUILDING, #1 South Mall Criminal Trespass: UT police officers responded to the Main Building on a report of a suspicious person who was seen wandering the floors and asking for directions. Upon arrival the officers recognized the subject's description from an earlier call at the Sanchez Building. As the investigation continued, the officers realized that the subject had received several prior Criminal Trespass Warnings as well as having been arrested for a number of thefts. The subject was taken into custody for Criminal Trespass and was transported to Central Booking. Occurred on: 5-09-08 at 2:00 PM. The known offender is described as: Black male, 6'-02", 250 lbs, usually wears blue jeans and a T-shirt. Crime Prevention Tip: As we can see this subject has been handled a number of times by this police department in the past and the subject continues to return. This is not abnormal. Many thieves return to an area time and time again when there are plenty of opportunities to commit a crime. There were several staff members from different buildings that helped in alerting the police department that this subject was on campus and walking through different buildings. In both cases the staff member became suspicious and called the police. MCDONALD OBSERVATORY, 16120 State Hwy 78 Theft: Several items from the gift store were discovered inside a private residence during the execution of a search warrant. During the follow-up investigation and inventory, the officer was able to determine that the items had been stolen. Charges are pending. Recovery value: $76.00. Discovered on: 2-26-08. UNIVERSITY TEACHING CENTER, 105 West 21st Street Criminal Mischief: A Fed-Ex label was discovered pasted to a third floor door. An unknown subject wrote a slogan on the sticker before applying it to the door. Est. loss: $50.00. Discovered on: 5-12-08, at 6:00 AM. WALTER WEBB HALL, 2500 Guadalupe Criminal Trespass Warning: Two non-UT subjects were discovered camped out on the east side of the building, asking for money as individuals passed by. Both subjects were issued written Criminal Trespass Warnings and were escorted from the property. Occurred on: 5-08-08, at 3:08 PM. 400 BLOCK WEST 21st STREET Driving While Intoxicated: A UT police officer responded to the sounds of a collision at the intersection of 21st Street and Guadalupe. During the investigation, the officer soon learned that a Pontiac had made an illegal left hand turn into oncoming traffic. As the investigation continued, the officer detected a very strong odor of alcohol on the breath of the driver from the Pontiac. The officer also noted that the driver's eyes were bloodshot and watery. The driver needed to support himself by holding onto the side of his vehicle. The officer administered the Standardized Field Sobriety tests to the driver, the non-UT driver displayed several clues that indicated he was intoxicated. The driver was taken into custody for Driving While intoxicated and was transported to Central Booking. Occurred on: 5-11-08, at 1:24 AM. Crime Prevention Tip: Decisions and life choices. We are confronted with this on a daily basis. Many of our choices do not impact anyone other then ourselves; however, there are some choices that have a direct impact on others. Drinking is a personal choice. Drinking and driving is a decision that is not well thought out. But then many drunks are not thinking. CAMPUS WIDE: Non-Criminal Calls: In addition to the above criminal cases, The University of Texas Police Department responded to 43 alarm calls,12 suspicious person reports, 11 suspicious activity reports, and 10 unsecured door reports between 05-09-08 and 05-12-08. Contact UT Police at 471-4441 if you have any information regarding any of the above incidents or call 911 regarding suspicious persons, suspicious activities or crime. Your call may help solve or prevent a crime. Campus Watch comments should be directed to Officer Darrell Halstead at 512-232-9634 or Darrell.halstead@austin.utexas.edu . Prepared by DWH To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit http://www.utexas.edu/police/campuswatch/subscribe.php
