Sexual extortion
A U. of I. student reported that he had been the victim of a sexual extortion scam. The student accepted a friend request from an Instagram user with whom he was not familiar. The user encouraged the student to send intimate photos of himself, and then threatened to post those photos publicly unless the student paid money.
UIPD selected as Illinois CIT Department of the Year
EAST PEORIA, Illinois – The University of Illinois Police Department has been recognized as the top department in the state for responding to mental health-related emergencies. At its annual Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) conference in June, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) presented U. of I. Police Chief Alice Cary with the 2023 award for CIT Department of the Year. The award comes as UIPD’s Response, Evaluation and Crisis Help (REACH) initiative has been active for about two years now, with hundreds of campus community members served. REACH is a true co-responder model, with Crisis Responders and [...]
Sexual extortion
A U. of I. student reported that he was the victim of sexual extortion. About a month prior, an unknown person initiated a private conversation with the student through social media. The offender encouraged the student to send intimate photos of himself. The offender then began threatening the student and posting the photos on social media. The student has not responded to further phone calls and messages from the offender.
Fake police investigation
A U. of I. student received a call from someone purporting to be an “ambassador” from Chicago, who said that the student was under police investigation for international money laundering. The student was interrogated by the scammer for several hours, during which she was prompted to disclose personal and financial information. The student was instructed to maintain video contact with the offender via Skype under threat of arrest. The offender then instructed the student to send the equivalent of $106,000 to a third party in transactions that occurred over multiple days.
Emergency Management team enhances access to life-saving drug
URBANA, Illinois – A life-saving drug is becoming publicly available for emergency use throughout campus through the work of the Division of Public Safety’s Emergency Management team.