How to Avoid Zombie College Scams

by Burton Kelso, Owner of Integral

Did you know over 12,000 colleges have closed since 2004? You might not have noticed this, but cyber crooks have and they are taking advantage of this. Criminals are committing what's called "Zombie college scams", and like most scams, they are designed not only to trick you but your kids out of their identities and your hard-earned money. Zombie colleges are very real and potentially very dangerous as it's part of larger trend of socially engineered attacks you and still-living schools need to take seriously. Here's what you need to know.

How Does the Zombie College Scam Work?
Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to gain access to new data to use for identity and cyber attacks. In the zombie college scams, bad actors go in search of personal information, financial details, and, ultimately, profit. They attempt to access your data by assuming the identity of one of the many colleges that have closed.

Prospective students who are looking to attending online or in-person colleges could be tricked into disclosing personal data, including financial details. Most of you don't think about it, but the amount of personal infomation that you give to a potential college when you’re applying for admission or applying for financial aid is very extensive. This risk can also extend to colleges who are still open as its easy for a crook to create bogus websites and online forms. At its core, the zombie college scam is an impersonation scheme.

Another scam that can be created with the help of AI. These days, it doesn’t take a special skillset to run these cons, just a bit of artificial intelligence. In the case of zombie colleges, AI can bring defunct schools back to life cheaply and easily. Artificial Intelligence is a very helpful tool, in the right hands.  In the wrong hands, criminals can just visit a chatbot and say: ‘Build me a website for this university, and here’s the faculty, and here are all their profiles.’ And that legitimate AI tool will build a pretty good website for you.

Criminals can also research websites that keep an archive of old websites and just copy the information stored there. Even still, site builder website tools make it so anyone can design a professional-looking website. Also, AI can help with official letterhead. Want to send an email that sounds like it came from the dean? AI can help.

Legitimate schools are also being targeted for data theft. Stolen student information can go a long way to helping criminals gain access to your student. This information can help crooks with ID theft, but also help them determine who might be ready for college. Criminals can use that data to target students with letters from dead colleges.

How can you stay safe from Zombie College scams? In this AI age that we live in, you can no longer just rely on the information listed on websites and sent via text or email.  You must always verify any information you receive. 

Follow these tips:

When researching for schools, don't just rely what you read on the web. Most universities have different forms of contact. Call several numbers to reach staff. Send emails to a variety of staff to verify they are legit and still exist.

Check with Uncle Google. Looking up university information with a standard Google search can go a long way to keep you safe. You might get communication from a college directly, but also search for information to verify you have the correct contact information as well as websites and emails.

Don't forget about Google Maps. Most closed universities have reported to Google that they are no longer around.  Zip arount the virtual map with Google Maps to see what the operating status of the college you're interested in is.

Use AI. The crooks do. Stop turning a blind eye to AI and use it to your advantage. AI searches can be more concise than just using Google, so ask your favorite chatbot for detailed information about the college. You can even ask to give you a list of colleges that have closed recently.

Want to ask me a tech question? Send it to [email protected]. I love technology. I've read all of the manuals and I'm serious about making technology fun and easy to use for everyone.
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