Department of Public Safety

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) oversees public safety and emergency management at Brown University. DPS operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition to responding to public safety emergencies and situations, DPS also provides a variety of resources ranging from Safe Walks, property registration, self defense courses, and more. International students and scholars are strongly encouraged to review their resources and to sign up for campus alerts systems using the information links below:

• Non-Emergency Contact Information: (401) 863-3322, or email Campus Safety
• Fire, Police or Medical Emergency: (401) 863-4111, or 911
• Brown Alert System
• Hostile Intruder Emergency Guide
• Campus Crime Alerts
• Safewalk

Office of Information Technology (Online and Device Safety)

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides a variety of resources and tools to help people maintain online and device safety against phishing scams, virus protection and more. Go to the OIT website for more information about their services.

Scams are a very common and serious problem affecting international students and scholars, with some victims losing tens of thousands of dollars. Scams happen when someone tries to steal your money or your private information by lying to you. It's essential to protect yourself by learning how to recognize when you might be the target of a scam. 

Common Scam Types

Scammers often target international students and scholars because they are new to the country and its laws. Here are some common types of scams.

• The "Government Official" Scam: Someone calls and pretends to be from an agency like Homeland Security (ICE / USCIS), the IRS (Taxes), or the Police. They say there is a problem with your visa or taxes and that you will be arrest or deported if you don't pay a fine immediately. In reality, government agencies will never call and demand payment using gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Hang up and do not respond, and notify ISSS about the scam.
• Rental and Housing Scams: You find a great apartment online being offered for a very low price. You tell the “landlord” or “rental agent” you are interested, and they tell you to send a deposit to hold the apartment for you. They may even tell you to pay immediately, since someone else is interested. In reality, the offer is not real, and the scammer takes the money and disappears before you realize it. Never send money before you have actually seen the apartment, either through a physical or video tour.
• Fake Job and Internship Offers: You receive an email offering a high paying job that you didn't apply for. It says that you can “work from home.” It may even be from someone at the University. They send you a check so you can buy some equipment, and ask you to refund anything that you didn't spend. In reality, the job offer and the payment is fake, but you've already sent some of your own money back. If the job is “too good to be true,” you should treat it with suspicion.
• “Virtual Kidnapping”: Someone contacts you and says that your parents (or relatives) have been arrested back in your home country, and that you cannot tell anyone about it. In other versions, they have been kidnapped. You are told to send money so that they can be released. After you send the money, you realize that the arrest or kidnapping never happened. If you receive a message like this, contact the Brown Department of Public Safety your local police immediately.

Some Signs of a Scam

Some signs that you are being subjected to a scam include the following. It is important to take a moment and disengage from any contact if you believe you are the target of a scam.

• You are being subjected to high-pressure tactics, such as being told to pay a fine immediately or else you will face arrest
• You are told “not to tell anyone” or else there will be serious consequences
• You are being told to deliver money in strange ways, such as buying gift cards to pay a tax penalty or wiring it to an anonymous account
• You are being offered (a job, an apartment) by someone online, and the offer seems “too good to be true”
• You receive an email from someone claiming to be a University faculty member or employee, but notice that the “from” email is not associated with Brown or any other trusted organization

Reading and Further Resources

• U.S. Federal Trade Commission on avoiding and reporting scams and identity theft and online protection
• U.S. Internal Revenue Service on tax scams and fraud
• USCIS common scams information site
• Social Security fraud
• Brown's OIT on phishing (online scams / personal identity theft)