The Division of Public Safety alerted student-athletes and their families to an ongoing phone scam targeting families of student-athletes at Penn and other universities.
The scam involves a male caller identifying himself as a part of Penn administration and informing the family member that their student-athlete has been arrested by the Penn Police Department for being publicly intoxicated or inflicting property damage. The caller then requests the family pay bail or send monetary compensation for property damage via Venmo, Cash App, or other similar platforms in exchange for the student-athlete’s release or their charges to be dropped. The caller ID displayed is often the real emergency number of the University’s Division of Public Safety.
At the time of publication, it is currently unknown who is behind the phone calls, how family members’ phone numbers were collected, or why specifically the families of student-athletes have been targeted.
An email from Vice President for the Division of Public Safety Kathleen Shields Anderson, which was obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian, clarifies to student-athletes and their families that “no member of Penn Public Safety will ever contact you to request bail money or money for damages.”
In recent memory, there have been several campus-wide scam communications where Penn officials were impersonated.
Last semester, many Penn students received a satirical email impersonating the University Board of Trustees that claimed former Penn President Liz Magill would be returning to the presidency.
A significant number of first-year students received emails impersonating professors and alumni asking them to partake in research and employment opportunities back in 2021.
In her email to student-athletes and their families, Anderson encouraged students and families to “inform all relatives and family members of this scam.” If they receive any call about a student’s arrest, Anderson asked that they “do not engage with the caller” and call DPS at 215-573-3333.
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