Back to school season prompts scam warnings for students

September is nearly here and while students are getting ready to go back to school, experts say they should be wary of scammers during this busy time.

In a release, the Better Business Bureau says, that during this season scammers see an opportunity to exploit students whose minds are too preoccupied to spot the scam.

“As students return to class they are often juggling multiple priorities such as finding an apartment, attending classes, securing jobs and settling into their new spaces, that they may be pushing caution aside as they attempt to make quick decisions or get the best deals,” said Neesha Hothi, BBB Director of Marketing and Communications.

The BBB says the three most common scams students face are online purchase, rental and employment scams.

The organization says online purchase scams were among the most popular types of scams reported in 2023 with 18-24 year olds listing the most.

To minimize online scams, the BBB advises students not to shop on price alone, avoid spontaneous purchases, avoid purchasing online unless the transaction is secure, do not pay “holding” fees, and use a credit card wherever possible for payments.

The BBB says a Vancouver student was scammed in 2023 while making living arrangements for themselves online. It says that the students needed a place to stay after they came back from vacation, but to their surprise, the space didn’t belong to the person who was supposedly renting it to them.

“I looked on Kijiji and I found a room for rent there. I talked to the owner through the website, email and text message. I had to make the rent deposit and the security deposit through PayPal but due to some problems, I deposited to his daughter’s bank account. Also, he sent me a lease contract to sign. But when I got there in September the house did not belong to the alleged tenant,” the Vancouver student said, according to the BBB.

To avoid rental scams like these, the experts ask students to view properties in person, avoid sending money via cash transfer apps, search for similar postings online to ensure it’s a legitimate rental, and ensure a tenancy agreement is drafted and signed by both parties.

Finally, the BBB says there are two types of employment scams that students should try to avoid, when scammers ask you to pay for equipment and promise reimbursement, and when they mimic other job postings to retrieve banking details.

The experts say to watch out for imposters by checking the company’s official job postings, researching the company you’re applying to, checking for the legitimacy of the contact that is in touch with you, not paying any upfront fees and never depositing any cheques.