Academic Integrity Scam Targeting Students (11/12/20)
Please be aware that the VCU information Security office has received notification of a scam that is targeting students. The scam involves the scammer stating that they have evidence that the victim is cheating on or in their classes. The scammer will provide photoshopped screenshots of emails that they have from Karen Belanger, the director of Student conduct and academic integrity. The screenshots will show that the scammer has a trusted connection with Karen and that their evidence provided before has led to the expulsion or suspension of several students already. Furthermore, the scammer will provide some information on some of the victim’s classes in an attempt to appear more legitimate.
Please be aware that this is a scam. The emails between the scammer and Karen Belanger are doctored and are not legitimate. Please ignore and block the scammer. Also please forward any of these emails to infosec@vcu.edu as we believe the scammer may be using multiple email addresses to attempt to blackmail the victims.
A screenshot of the photoshopped from Karen Belanger is below:
