Halifax Regional Police (HRP) released a warning Nov. 18 of a tuition fraud scam targeting international students.
The HRP launched an investigation into the issue following a report from an Asian university student who had been scammed tens of thousands of dollars.
According to public information officer Const. Pierre Bourdages, the complainant was approached by an Asian man while on campus who spoke to the student in Mandarin. The police are not currently releasing which campus this took place on.
The suspect promised the student ESL training and entry into a better school in return for a large sum of cash, according to Bourdages.
The student then paid the suspect separate amounts of money, an administrative fee and an upfront one to start.
After the exchange was made, the student travelled to Montreal for ESL training where the individual took classes with a group of about 20 other Asian students who had been brought there by the same person.
“The training was the bare minimum, there was no interaction and they were being provided with limited training,” Bourdages said. “They were all promised what the suspect called an Ontario Ivy League education.”
According to the HRP, the suspect kept the money and did not apply to any universities on the student’s behalf, as had been earlier discussed.
It was after depositing and losing a large amount of cash that the student’s parents were made aware of the situation. The student then spoke to ESL advisers in Halifax who advised the student to report the incident to police.
Bourdages said Halifax is home to a large Asian student population of 15 per cent, which is making the ethnic group a prime target for tuition scams.
However, tuition scams could also be taking place in other regions across Canada.
“There is an indication it could be happening in other places,” Bourdages said. “It’s possible other cities as well.”
The investigation is currently ongoing, but no charges have been made yet.
In the meantime, police are advising the public to take precaution of services being offered for cash up front and to be careful when giving out personal information.
