Campus Watch: Below is a summary of campus activity reported to or observed by The University Police Department Patrol Officers between Monday, 03/07/16 and Tuesday, 03/08/16. JESTER EAST, 201 East 21st Street Fraud: A UT student reported receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be from the UT Financial Aid Office. The caller told the student she owed taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. The caller went on to state because she had not paid her taxes she would be withdrawn from the university and a warrant would be issued for her arrest. The caller told her she could avoid these negative consequences by making a payment over the phone by obtaining a money-gram from Walmart. The student complied and remained on the phone while she obtained a money-gram in the amount of $1,251.25 from local Walmart. Occurred on 03/07/16 at approximately 3:00 p.m. Not So Much a Tip – Just a Plea to Shut These Guys Down This a variant of a common scam in which the caller obtains directory information, calls a student and scars them into making a payment over the phone by a threat of arrest or removal from school. These thieves keep perpetrating this scam because they successfully obtain money a certain percentage of the time. In the last 24-hours, UTPD received two calls regarding this scam. In the other call, the student recognized this as a scam and hung the phone up. Even if those were the only two scam attempts against UT students yesterday, these thieves are still batting .500. There are two things we can do to stop these scams. First, limit the information on the UT On-line Directory. If the scammer can't get your contact information, he or she can't call you in the first place. To restrict your information on the UT directory, visit: http://registrar.utexas.edu/students/records/restrictmyinfo The second thing you can do is get the word out. Share this scam information with friends and family. If you have a social media sight, share the information on the site. If you manage an e-mail list, send out a scam alert. If you maintain a bulletin board (old school I know) or an electronic information board, put a posting up on that media. ROBERT A. WELCH HALL, 105 East 24th Street Theft: A bin of scrap copper was stolen from a construction zone located on the 2nd floor of the building. Loss value: $1,500.00. Occurred between 03/04/16 at 11:00 a.m. and 03/07/15 at 11:00 a.m. STUDENT SERVICES BUILDING, 100 West Dean Keeton Theft: A thief sucked up a Super Coach Pro Team Backpack vacuum cleaner from an unsecured 1st floor custodial closet. Loss value: $500.00. Occurred between 03/03/16 at 1:54 a.m. and 03/04/16 at 2:00 a.m. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, 1616 Guadalupe Graffiti: Blue, purple and black indelible markers were used to write letters at several locations around the exterior of the building. Removal cost $100.00. Discovered on 03/07/16 at 8:10 a.m. The University of Texas Police Department responded to 32 Alarm Reports, 9 Traffic Violations, 1 Motor Vehicle Collision, 10 Suspicious Activity Reports, 1 Welfare Concern Report, 1 Unsecured Door Report, and 1 Public Assist Request between 03/07/16 and 03/08/16. Prepared by: Ofc. WR π/ To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit http://www.utexas.edu/police/campuswatch/subscribe.php/
