Situational awareness: Credit card fraud update
March 1 update
From: Virginia Tech Police
The Virginia Tech Police Department has been made aware of additional attempts to defraud individuals of money and/or personal information. We believe this activity stems from an already known security issue related to AudienceView Campus. We have received several reports that, after purchasing tickets through AudienceView Campus, that victims were called by a person claiming to be a representative with their banking institution. The phone number is believed to be spoofed and will likely match an actual customer service number provided for the particular bank. The caller asks the victim to confirm and/or provide additional account information to include PIN, and Social Security Number. Shortly after, victims notice ATM withdrawals from their accounts or are asked to transfer money to a different account while on the phone.
The Virginia Tech Police Department advises all community members to politely disconnect from any unsolicited phone calls from banking institutions and dial the appropriate number found on the official website or bank card for that institution before conducting any business or sharing information of any kind.
Original Message published on February 21:
From: Virginia Tech Police
On February 20, 2023, the Virginia Tech Police Department began investigating a report of multiple fraudulent credit card charges. This activity stems from a security issue related to AudienceView Campus. AudienceView Campus is a third-party vendor contracted by the university to facilitate online ticket sales for special events (campuslife.universitytickets.com). AudienceView Campus reports they are actively investigating their internal security issue. The University will provide additional information regarding future ticket sales once the matter is resolved. This issue did not impact ticket sales for Virginia Tech athletic events.
Community members who have recently purchased tickets for university events from campuslife.universitytickets.com are encouraged to check your credit card statements immediately, contact your banking institution regarding any suspicious transactions, and report the suspicious transactions to your local police department.
For incidents in the Blacksburg campus area, contact the Virginia Tech Police Department at (540)382-4343.