CAMPUS WATCH: Below is a summary of campus activity reported to or observed by the University Police Department patrol officers between Thursday, 05-29-08 and Friday, 05-30-08. I received the following e-mail from a Campus Watch subscribed: I'm a UT student and I offered a couple of books for sale online, I received two emails replying back to my offer. However, their instructions seem oddly similar on what they want me to do, money wise. Should this be a red flag? Please let me know as to what I should do. Thanks Here is a copy of the first email from e-mail address deleted Hello, I am so happy to hear back from you.I need this item urgently in my store cos of its higher demand. I am satisfied with the price issue.My method of payment is via Money Orders or a Certified Cashier's Check which has been my method of payment since i started business of buying and selling . The payment will cover the shipment of the item from yourlocation which will be handled by my shipper. All you need to do as soon as you receive the payment, Take the payment to your bank for funds,deduct the cost for the item and send the rest balance to my shipper's information via Western Union / Money Gram. I will email you the tracking number for the payment will be delivered to you via FEDEX / UPS and as well email you my shipper's information so that the rest balance can be sent to him for the pick up and shipment of the item from your location and my shipper will contact you for the shipment processes. Kindly email me the information below for the payment: Name Address: City: State: Zip Code: Phone Number Hope to hear from you soon. Keep In touch and the second email from e-mail address deleted Hello Sounds good. I will inform my debtor in the United States to issue out the payment to you to the tune of the amount he owes me. All you need do as soon as you receive the payment from my debtor is to deduct the cost of your item and get the excess fund on the payment send via Western Union to my shipper's company so that they can come for the picking up of the item from you in your location I will give you an extra $40 on the cost of your item which will serve as an inconvience fees for helping me send the excess money to the shipper's the same day you receive the package containing the payment. Please confirm your name and address as well as a telephone number as soon as possible if you are ready and willing to continue with this transaction so that I can inform my debtor to issue out the payment in your name in time. I await your reply. Sincerely, This is an ongoing scam that targets primarily students on Facebook. As you can see, the scam is very simple. The con artist is looking for easy victims, and in many cases the victim is a student. The student is simply trying to recoup some money from used textbooks or other property. The deceptive buyer contacts the seller. After making contact, the deceptive buyer will then start making other demands or changes to the original deal. Many of the demands made by the buyer involve the seller accepting a larger amount of money, then refunding the difference. The money orders or cashier's checks sent by the deceptive buyer are fraudulent. Any online transaction needs to be handled through a third party. If you do except the transaction directly, don't rush in refunding any additional money. Wait until the money order or cashiers checks clear the banking system. All sellers need to remember to treat all money orders and cashier's checks the same as any other personal check. APPLIED COMPUTATIONAL & ENGINEERING SCIENCE BUILDING, 201 East 24th Street Suspicious Person: A UT staff member saw an unknown subject wandering around the 5th floor. The subject had the appearance of being lost. When the unknown subject saw the staff member approaching, he took off running towards the center stairwell and went to the 6th floor. The staff member saw the subject looking over the banister to see if he had been followed. According to the staff member, the subject "was being sneaky." Again when the staff member approached the subject, he took off running. This time, downstairs and out of the building. The unknown subject was described as: Black male, 25 years old, 5'-08", and 165 pounds. The subject was last seen wearing a dirty white shirt with red lettering on the front. Occurred on: 5-29-08, at 12:44 PM. POWER PLANT ANNEX, 305 East 24th Street Criminal Trespass Warning (6 Counts): A UT police officer discovered six UT students inside a restricted area of the Power Plant. During the investigation, the officer learned that the subjects had been playing Frisbee golf and were attempting to retrieve a wayward Frisbee that had sliced right. All six subjects were informed of the dangers within the Power Plant and all six received verbal Criminal Trespass Warnings. In addition to the law enforcement action taken, all six students received a referral to the Dean of Student's Office. Occurred on: 5-29-08, at 11:44 AM. 600 BLOCK DEAN KEETON Driving While Intoxicated: A blue Ford Explorer was seen running through a stop sign and continuing to commit several additional traffic violations. During the traffic investigation, the officer detected a moderate odor of alcohol on the driver's breath and inside the vehicle's passenger compartment. As the investigation continued, the officer administered the Standardized Field Sobriety tests to the non-UT driver. The driver displayed several clues that indicated that he was intoxicated. The driver was taken in to custody for Driving While Intoxicated and was transported to Central Booking. Occurred on: 5-30-08, at 2:50 AM. CAMPUS WIDE: Non-Criminal Calls: In addition to the above criminal cases, The University of Texas Police Department responded to 14 alarm calls, 3 suspicious activity calls, 4 suspicious person calls, 5 unsecured doors reported between 05-29-08 and 05-30-08. 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
