Email scams are nothing new. From Nigerian princes looking for a few thousand dollars to save their kingdom to fake police calling about fake warrants, it seems like nobody is safe from a scammer looking to put one over on them.

Apparently, a new scam is making its rounds, this time targeting first-time college students. According to a post on the Santa Clarita Sheriff Station’s Facebook page:

“As summer starts to wind down, many students are preparing for the upcoming school year, especially “first-time” college students. With that being said, an opportunity presents itself for scammers to take advantage of college students teaching them a hard lesson.

This scam is circulating to college students so be aware, and pay close attention so you don’t fall victim to this fake book-buying websites scam:

• You get an email or see a flyer offering a deal on textbooks. 
• The email will tell you to click on a link to redirect you to a fake book-buying website.
• Once on the fake website, it will instruct you to enter your personal information, including your credit card number to start receiving deals on college books, however, the books are never sent.

If you receive an email or come across a flyer offering a great deal, do your research to confirm the authenticity of the book-buying websites.”

This is probably one of those scenarios where the old cliche “if it sounds too good to be true – it probably is” comes into play. College textbooks are notoriously expensive. It’s certainly possible to find discounts – especially on used textbooks. However, they’re also pretty niche in that their only customers are college students. As such, email marketing campaigns aren’t their preferred mode of advertisement.

If you’ve gotten any emails about discount textbooks from sites you know you’ve never seen before, you should be cautious. Check and make sure the site itself is legit before you give them any of your personal identifying information – especially your credit card number.

Robin Sandoval

Robin Sandoval

Robin Sandoval is a California Licensed Bail Bondsman and owner of SCV Bail Bonds. Robin writes blogs and articles to help increase community awareness of the bail industry. If you have questions or want to suggest a topic, email robin@scvbailbonds.com, visit www.scvbailbonds.com or call 661-299-2245.
Robin Sandoval
Robin Sandoval
Robin Sandoval

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