NC State students still being scammed by fake IRS callers

No, the real IRS doesn’t accept iTunes gift cards as payment

In mid-August, NC State students reported getting phone calls from people who claimed to be NCSU police, saying they had committed fraud, and demanding the students pay a fee by way of gift cards.

We thought the issue was under control after NC State sent out an email warning students of the scam, but unfortunately students are still falling for it.

The number the scammers use shows up on students' phone as the local police station, making the calls seem more believable.

The Tab spoke with NC State student, Gina, who was recently contacted by the con artists.

"I received several calls from someone listed as the Raleigh Police," Gina said. "The fact that they didn't leave a message or call back later made it pretty obvious that someone was wrong."

"I wish State would make our info more private and especially stop sending out info to different companies so they can advertise to us," she said, upset about how easily her personal information was accessed.

The scammers tricked students into making payments through gift cards. Students are told to go to a Best Buy location and buy gift cards and then have them read the activation codes back to the caller.

The amount of financial losses total over $58,000 for students who have fallen victim to the scam.

The scammers were able to stay under the radar by telling students to keep the conversations to themselves, saying it was part of a private investigation and they needed to destroy the gift cards and receipts.

Moral of the story, the IRS doesn't ask for payment in the form of gift cards. Stay sharp, guys.

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North Carolina State University