Scammer targeting parents of UD students

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A new scam is targeting parents of students enrolled at the University of Dayton.

According to a message distributed to the UD community, a caller claiming to be “Lt. Pete Snyder from the Dayton Campus Police” is contacting parents of students.

The fraudster then claims that their student has been taken into custody and demands payment by either credit card or Zelle for their student to avoid jailtime.

“The caller tells the parents their student is in custody and, to save them from going to jail and negatively affecting their college careers, the parents can pay to place their student in a pretrial diversion program,” said UD. “The caller claims the money would be refunded after the student completes the program and meets with a UD magistrate to determine their community service.”

Parents and the community should know that UD Department of Public Safety will not demand payment over the phone for any reason.

UD does not offer any of the following on campus:

• Jail
• Magistrate
• Pretrial diversion program
• Secure holding facility

If you receive a call and are unsure of its authenticity, you are urged to call the UD Department of Public Safety at 937-229-2121 .

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