Tutor Overpayment/Prepayment Scam

University of Regina is warning tutors of a payment scam involving prospective students writing fraudulent cheques and then asking for reimbursement. 

In this scam you get an unsolicited email asking you to either tutor this person’s child or relative, many times the people claim to be from overseas so they cannot meet you in person.

Typically, emails will be received asking for detailed tutoring services by a scammer.  The scammer will only be willing to meet virtually.  Once an agreement with the tutor has been reached, a fraudulent cheque will be issued from the scammer to the tutor.  Finally, a refund or reimbursement will then be sought by the scammer in the hopes that the tutor hasn’t yet discovered that the original payment is fraudulent.

Such scams have been attempted on the Student Success Centre Tutoring Search.  Tutors are urged to be aware of such scams.

Example emails:

Example 1:

Subject: Grade 9 Math

Example 2:

If tutors engage with such scammers, a cheque for over the agreed upon amount may be issued.  The scammer will ask to return a portion. In such a scam, the cheque is fraudulent, and the funds do not exist.  When a tutor returns the money, it is removed from your balance and the tutor has lost the funds.  Tutors may be finanically liable for the amount of funds sent from their finanical institution.

• Verify all payments.  Be cautious of receiving payments with a cheque.
• Be suspect of all requstes for a refund or returning money to the student. Review our phishing guidelines to learn how to spot phishing.
• You may wish to provide services to verified student of the U of R only.  This can be done by accepting jobs from a verified Uregina.ca email address.
• Deal locally with customers who are able to meet in person as most scams are done at a distance.
• To avoid prepayment or overpayment schemes, act with extreme caution if anyone who wants to give you money before they meet.
• Never wire funds via Moneygram, Western Union, or any other wire service.  Anyone who asks you to do so is in all likleyhood a scammer.
• Note that with fraudulent cashier chques or money order, banks will cash them and hold you financially liable when they are discovered to be fake.
• Never give out financial information such as bank account number. 
• Do not reply to suspicious e-mails. Doing so reveals your e-mail address. If in doubt, wait to find out more information before you reply.

If you receive a suspicious email or have engaged with potential fraudsters, report it.

This is a typical overpayment/prepayment scam.  Further details of this scam can be found at:

• https://cba.ca/overpayment-scam
• https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-and-report-fake-check-scams
• https://collections.ola.org/mon/24010/305142.pdf