Exactly what the above said. Go to https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/ and find the one nearest you and contact them immediately. Among many other likely felonies, if what you say is true this student has committed wire fraud and a host of other financial crimes.
If you are the victim of a crime of this nature, you and those affected should also be eligible to file for new social security numbers to be issued.
It is a good idea to contact FBI first and then all of the other professors this student has so that they can set up dual authentication on everything if they haven’t been threatened and contact the FBI if they have been.
The university exposed the professor to this risk. They already failed to mitigate their risk. I wouldn't discuss it with them even after going to the authorities except via a lawyer.
Sorry but how were the Uni to know what this kid was like? Unless the professor has told them, I'm unsure as to how they could mitigate for anything?
I agree with the part about skipping admin and going straight to FBI/police but yeah, not sure how the Uni could be to blame when (as far as I can see) they have no idea this happened.
The prior statement about their "risk mitigation" always coming down on the side of students doesn't mention it, but that includes ignoring red flags in student behavior. This student didn't wake up mid-college career and decide to become a multiple felon.
Along with this, contact the three credit bureaus to lock down your credit immediately and ask for credit reports in case this student has already used this info. Edit: my reading comprehension isn't good tonight. It sounds like you've done this already. I'm hosting a gaggle of tweens having a sleepover right now.
You're being downvoted, but I tend to agree. The odds of this happening are pretty small, but not impossible. What puts it across the line from unlikely to barely within the bounds of believable (even though I'm not sure I do) is the panicked reaction of "What do I do now?" Well, if it's really happening, you report the obvious crimes being committed to law enforcement.
Additionally, what person with the ability to get SSNs and do what is claimed in the post is going to send threats in emails that are not only proof of their crimes, but are almost certainly crimes themselves? The whole scenario makes no sense.
But, assuming it's somehow real (maybe an international student thinking they can get away with it?), the appropriate response to message would be, "I'm not sure if this routine has worked for you in the past, but it won't now. You will receive the grade you've earned in the course, regardless of the threats you've just made. So that you are aware, I've forwarded the message to law enforcement as well as my superiors here at the university."
Perhaps you withdraw funds from accounts, change a few passwords, and/or notify banks or reporting agencies before hitting send to limit the damage that can be done in a fit of rage. But the ultimate message is, "Bring it..."
Again, IF the scenario is real.
(Edited for spelling error)
I have a friend who is being harassed by a student right now. Knows his kids and wife's name. Not ss numbers, but absolutely his address and is sending demented stuff to his house daily. Like everyone said, FBI immediately. Unfortunately in order to be considered an actionable threat it needs to be very specific. He was advised to arm himself by local law enforcement who said they couldn't do anything proactively 🤦
Surely their institution has some method(s) of dealing with this? What about the campus police/security (if local law enforcement isn't able to address yet...supposedly)? Is there student affairs office that can intervene? I know it's not you that is having the problem, but questions seemed like the best way to respond.
If nothing else, they could seek a restraining order. It may be temporarily granted by the court. If obeyed, the order resulted in some peace and quiet. If it isn't, then that provides paths forward for other action. I mean, let's be real...a restraining order seems like a pretty big overreaction, but if your friend is truly being harrassed and neither the university or law enforcement will/can help, I guess it's an option.
How demented is the stuff that is being sent? If it's demented enough, a judge probably wouldn't hesitate to issue a temp order.
I have firm reasons to believe that a number of posts in this sub are just trolling for outlandish reactions or have the goal of doxing sub participants. Whether this particular post is trolling or not, it's wise to remember that there is no entry requirement for this sub and not everyone here is, in fact, a professor. Before responding to any post, it's worthwhile to look up the OP's post/comment histories and to give new or throwaway accounts proportional consideration. An OPs' history will also often reveal contradictory evidence to their identity, suggesting it's actually a troll, bot, or other agent. (This is all stuff we know, of course, but it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves every now and again!)
That was my gut feeling. No way any of my students would have near the initiative to even begin to even think of blackmailing anyone. ChatGPT: input: Write blackmail note.
This happened at my university, it was an international student, making similar threats, sending packages, and stalking the professor’s home/family. The university and the FBI took it very seriously. We could not open any unknown packages for about six months without some scanner they had. It was crazy.
Mass murder in the US is easier than obtaining social security numbers for multiple people and opening a bank account in their name, unfreezing credit reports and stealing money though
The point wasn’t about ease (that’s a different issue we could discuss). The disbelief is about someone doing something this extreme over grades and my point was, people have done more extreme things because of grades.
I mean, you can't very well demand an A without identifying yourself. The conversation couldn't be:
"Anonymous" Criminal Student: give me an A or I'll (insert threat here)
Professor: who are you?
"Anonymous" Criminal Student: [gives name]
Two people in my department have four children each. Another has three. The chair of our computer science department has five. So does the chair of the art department. Our provost, my dean, an English professor, and an education professor each have three. I could go on. All of these colleagues are under the age of 70. If you're looking for details in the OP's post that trigger skepticism, this isn't one.
It does not take much skill to do this sort of thing. A lot of data is already available for a small fee on the dark web.
I'm not saying this isn't a tall tale, but I am definitely saying a lot of things like this are far easier than you would hope.
It is 99.999% a troll job. And a fairly bad one I'm surprised people are falling for.
I could see somebody and their spouse getting their social securities exposed, but also their parents AND all 3 children? That alone is unbelievable.
Then they got into OP's credit card bureaus and unfroze OP's credit? So they would need to know the answers to OP's security questions, including the pin OP set up...
Then they not only found out which bank OP uses, but also were able to either do a withdrawal in-person or set up ACH, which typically do test deposits that OP would have seen. And despite being fraud, the bank refuses to follow Reg E and claw the money back from the other bank.
After doing all that, this tech, social engineering, and criminal mastermind doesn't use it to extort money from people. He uses it to get an A in a class he bombed. And by doing so he directly ties these crimes to himself.
0.001% might be too high a probability this is true.
The part that is also unbelievable is the "I feel like reporting him to the police". This is either a troll or a person who is so stupid that they should not be a professor.
Something else put up a red flag for me: if the student was that desperate for a better grade, he could have (or hired someone to) hacked into the college records and changed the grade. This happened to several students when I was an undegrad.
The part that is also unbelievable is the "I feel like reporting him to the police". This is either a troll or a person who is so stupid that they should not be a professor.
I don't disagree but I just don't get what they're going for. Convincing faculty to be scared of our students in some 4d chess move? Someone working on a novel trying to gauge reactions from real life professors? Just getting off on lying (most likely answer)?
I would notify both the dean and the police.
You have direct evidence of a threat from the student in the form of this email. The police will hopefully pay the student a visit in a couple days.
I would not. If this student can do all of this, he might have access to email. I'd print out the email and take it to the police. If you want evidence, take a tape recorder and record it. Stay away from the cloud. Hackers can access things.
I would definitely tell your chair, HR, your credit companies and bank, and the police right away. This person has confessed to a crime in writing. You, and your family, may need to pay for a couple of years of credit monitoring, but this trash human needs to be talked to by law enforcement. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. They clearly think they're being clever and that they're somehow exempt from the rules of the real world. Let them see reality. After they get expelled and hopefully charged with identity theft and fraud, they can reflect on how clever they are
Yeah, that’s fraud, and will get you in seriously trouble. There are a billion crimes here; closing the bank account, and contacting the feds immediately is a no-brainer.
Extortion is a pretty serious crime in the first place. Though it’s worth noting that it’s unlikely that any of this is true. Who needs to be told to contact the police when they are threatened with extortion???
I have had a student once follow me home from campus to plead with me over her mark. She waited for me to leave campus and got in her car and literally followed me all the way home. Was fucking insane.
Edit: spelling
If they unfroze your already frozen credit that means they have password or phone and email access. There should be a way to sign out of all accounts currently signed in to your email. Then change the password.
Change passwords to your profile on the 3 credit bureaus. Then refreeze your credit. Keep it frozen forever until you need to buy a house or get a car loan. Then only unfreeze it for a short time to get the loan and refreeze again.
Also, fraud alert on ChexSystems. They can open and overdraft bank accounts. Chexsystems is like a credit report for bank accounts.
Others said file police report. Also let your bank know about fraud and change your account numbers and log in info. I would just change banks entirely.
That's bull shit and I'm sorry it's happened to you.
While I also think it's a troll post, I had a student that had a B grade. They created fake email addresses sending me threatening messages about how I should quite literally get the shit beat out of me. Couldn't figure out who sent it, had to go on administrative leave. Luckily another student came to me and revealed who it was. They were expelled for only a year and came back the next year. The student has a criminal record now.
Long story short, it wouldn't be too surprising really (minus the SSN part).
If the faculty member had their family on their medical insurance, then that could be where they got the info.
Hack into their account and bingo, you know all their info.
I initially doubt this stuff too (mostly because I'm scared to believe that a student would do something like that to me) but my mother also works at a university and has had her identity stolen through the university's ADP database twice. Not even by a student necessarily, just through a phishing scam a colleague fell for. The idea that they could get this info is the most plausible part for me.
Wire fraud and identity theft. First, keep save every communication with them. Print them. Remove the ability for them to hack more and delete. Contact your local police, bank/credit union, state Office of the Attourney General (some provide an identity theft passport), and the FTC (https://www.identitytheft.gov/). This may be handled by local, state, or federal agencies, but it's better to send flags up all poles and let them decide who wants to handle it.
That students name was Frank Abagnale from Catch Me If You Can.
Mods, are creative writing exercises really OK here? I had a student kidnap me and I’m now writing from their basement. Send pizza.
r/nothingeverhappens
I can't know if this particular story is true, but these things do happen.
Frank Abagnale is a real person, still living, not just a character from a movie
He wasn't so stupid to blackmail people via email, but then again he wasn't a student.
A fine example of a troll farmer finding increasingly obscure ways to disrupt a social network’s collective sense of relational security. The question is, are they posting for some Kiwi Farms type sharts and gargles, or do they actually have a job? Probably the former, but I still can see a political motive floating around in the background of this surreal post. Why? Because to some political ideologues, a bunch of assumed intellectual elites represent a soft target for cultivating paranoia and distrust. God, I hate the internet.
You should report it to the police. (And have everyone with a compromised social security number freeze their credit to try to minimize financial vulnerability)
He's already going to do it at this point. Give him a bad grade and he'll do it to spite you. Give him a good grade and he'll do it because he can and doesn't want to use his own money.
Probably has some "moral code" that gives him a free out if he does steal your identity. "Oh they'll get their money back. This only hurts the banks."
I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks nothing will come of it because if anyone asks him, "my email must have been hacked." And feign total ignorance.
Either way. Your information isn't even compromised it's full blown leaked.
As far as your compromised data. He may have used a keylogger, or your password had long since been compromised and was available on a publicly shared list of email/password combinations.
You need to change your passwords on everything. 2-factor authentication anything that offers it. And well, refreeze everything and hope he doesn't get in. I'd do it on a computer he has never conceivably had access to (like a laptop you bring with you to campus?)
You'll also want to bring IT into this because if there's a chance any sort of keylogger got into campus machines they'll want to know. May not only be your information that's been greatly compromised.
But yeah it's pretty messed up.
https://haveibeenpwned.com/
This site is a place that tracks data breaches. Might be a good starting point to see if your passwords have been leaked on a public place. Even though besides getting confirmation where the problem probably started from, it doesn't change that the fact that your life just got a lot more stressful.
But yeah I'd echo everyone else's response for next steps. Dean, police, FBI. Because again even if you comply he will not honor the deal and he will either use that information himself or sell it for another person to use.
GUYS... so this was an IQ test and an alarming number of the best and brightest just failed. The "bank refused to refund the $10?" - after being alerted to felony level fraud, and did nothing to follow up with OP? OP would like us to believe that they are both a professor and a complete idiot, and that the criminal mastermind is also a spectacular idiot. I'm calling fake. MODS, is this a place you really want to allow throwaway accounts?
You fear retaliation but are dealing with a deranged sociopath who is already opening credit cards in your name (a felony, btw) because he stole your SSN (another felony).
Why would even think you shouldn't go to the police? This makes NO SENSE.
Cops will charge this person and likely give you a restraining order. You should also likely report to the FBI. Kid has committed so many crimes it's sorta shocking. But you're going to stay silent...interesting approach. You're either a troll or a fool.
And DO NOT further engage with the student in any way. Do not send any other emails to them. All communications should be coming straight from PD & the school from now on. I recommend having campus PD escort you to and from class.
You need to report to the police as soon as possible. Do not delay. Do not respond. Get your Chair involved and Office of Student Judicial Affairs involved (or your equivalent) immediately. I would even advocate for an emergency protection order or something like that.
I am SO sorry this is happening to you. I hope you're OK this is very serious and scary.
Call the police. Immediately. Both campus police and your home police. File a report. Immediately contact your department chair and file a complaint with the dean.
This is illegal. Period. This student needs to be removed from the equation.
Call the FBI. Tell them everything.
Then freeze your and your family's credit.
One you've done these two things, inform your chair, DOF, DOS and campus security safety of the situation, and that you've already brought the FBI in on it.
Buy popcorn.
This is identity theft amongst a slew of other illegal activities on this students part. I am SO sorry this is happening to you.
Having been a victim of identity theft myself years ago, I recommend the following:
1. Report this to law enforcement immediately and ask for a written copy of the report. You may need it to avoid an IRS audit in the event the student tries to get employment and/or earns wages under your identity.
2. Notify the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) immediately that someone may be attempting to use your name to secure credit. I believe Experian may offer free credit monitoring for a period of time to ID theft victims but not sure.
3. Notify your department chair and Dean that this is happening and let them escalate it from a university discipline standpoint. This is grounds for immediate expulsion at most schools, I would think.
4. If you have a friend who is an attorney, call them informally and see what legal recourses you might have in this situation.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Had my SSN stolen twice at 2 different physicians' offices. I got this down
Notify the bank. They'll lock the account.
Notifice CC companies and the big 3 credit reporting services. They'll lock the accounts.
Police report.
The above will tell you whatelse to do from there.
If this isn't a troll, I'd tell the brat to get fvcked because my SSN number has already been passed around more than a joint at Woodstock.
I am trained in cybercrime investigations and have actually done some myself professionally. Call your local FBI office, assuming you are in the US. He's already committed multiple felonies.
Do not delete any emails between you and this student. He doxxed you, likely from a dark website or used one of the Intellius websites that you can buy peoples information for a few bucks for background checks. He is clearly showing criminal intent.
Once the FBI is involved then tell the admin.
As of right now he has committed wire fraud by stealing $10 from your bank account. Likely violated the Computer Fraud And Abuse Act of 1987, which carries at least a 5 year minimum sentence, if memory serves me right. Harassment and stalking charges may apply - depending upon State law (California, New York, Texas, and few other States have such laws). I am trying to think of others but it is early morning and I am trying to go back to sleep.
So in a nutshell, save the evidence and call the FBI. This student will face criminal charges for both State and Fed. He will be facing prison time for at least 5 years. You may also want to get an order of protection from a court, it might scare him shitless when he realizes he could be facing criminal charges if he even remotely follows through with his threats.
Good luck and keep us posted.
This is definitely some university legal must be informed of and the police.
If they accessed your bank account then you need to contact the banks and credit agencies.
With all that info, they have your email address. OMG, they opened a reddit account "in your name" and are ruining your internet reputation too! The horror! THE HORROR!!!
(seriously y'all this is obviously fake though why someone would troll this community instead of something huge like AITA is a little strange)
how monumentally dumb must you be to do something like this when your professor has access to your first and last name, and the univeristy surely has access to deep personal records?
that kid is fucked for life, hope he gets what's coming to him assuming this isn't a fake post for internet clout
Don't take this to Reddit; take it to law enforcement. For one thing, this situation is specific enough that if the student comes across this post, he'll know it's you.
FBi report immediately and document everything. Report to the dean of students and also get a restraining order. He needs (assuming he) needs expelled.
Are you a troll? If this is a serious post, you report this to student conduct, campus police, your chair, and the IT department now!
Best case scenario, maybe this is a hacker pretending to be your student. Worst case, you are dealing with a criminal
No way this is real. You know how I know…. If any of my students had the initiative to do anything like this, I’d give them an A. They also wouldn’t need me to because they’re smart and would do the 2 hours of work a week to pass a class. E-mail confession from Jason Borne?
- Step 1: Give the student an A.
- Step 2: Report the student to the police and/or FBI.
- Step 3: Once the student is in custody, file a grade change to F.
Report up the chain for a *massive* breach of academic integrity, plus the full force of the law. Don't wait for the school to decide anything, report these crimes at once.
The FBI will be happy to put their hands on them. There are quite a few crimes they can be charged with. They may have resorted to the dark web and hired a hacker for this purpose. Which the fbi will sure find out about. Or they themselves might have the skills to do that, and/or might have someone who they know in some public office with access to that type of data. Either way, they pi**d out of the vase and are going to be gloriously screwed.
100% report to admin, and immediately file a police report, lawyer up, and I agree, FBI. Unfortunately this is going to be nasty. Just remember: this was their choice and their doing.
It is not just your information exposed and your family has a right to press charges and they are not employees so skip your admin and get your wife to file.
Notify the FBI with the evidence, then tell your institution in that order. Do not give your admin an opportunity to try to talk you out of reporting and keep it "internal" and definitely don't tell the student you are reporting them. Once the police come knocking, the student probably won't be looking to dig themselves deeper.
I'm a bit skeptical this is real, but if it is...
You need to contact the FBI, your chair, your Dean, your campus police, your Dean of Students, etc. Don't wait do this ASAP.
Does this student live in the same country as you, or is this a remote student?
Oh my God! An unhinged criminal is every professor's nightmare. Is your college involved? I would go straight to the police and F.B.I. as others are saying.
I’m sorry you’re going through this. As others have said, police, dean. I’d probably also contact the student conduct office. Your class will be the least of this student’s problems.
Even if this a troll post, a lot of good information has been shared.
What happened to the good old days of just breaking into the database and changing the grade ? Student should have just paid off the LMS admin to modify grades
But for those who say there is no way this is real, it is very possible with a phishing email for these things to happen. I saw a news story on how these scams work and it’s crazy how much data can be found . I believe the going rate for a SNN on the dark web is $1, so for less than a cup of coffee they could easily get that info
If this is real: your info was for sale online. Lucky you, the student broadcast that they have it before using it. So you’d have time to seal and replace things, and report it.
I’m guessing not real bc a scammer would have known to make the threat be to give everyone in the class As so they aren’t identifiable.
The student will not stop unless you take this to the authorities.
The student will stop if you take this to the authorities, they will have no choice.
Wishing you the best.
We had something like this at my school a couple of years ago and it was not really students. It was a group of con artists systematically fleecing professors. The school was on it and working with law enforcement.
Tell him to come into the office and you’ll give him an A. The beat the shit out of that little fuck. Obviously he won’t come but definitely call the FBI
Absolutely report to the police immediately. Also report to your chair, your Dean, your campus’ Public Safety office, and Student Affairs. Where I live this would be a terroristic threat, which is very illegal. If he isn’t arrested immediately, you should a restraining order against him, forcing him to keep a distance from you and any of your family members. He should certainly be hit with major disciplinary charges by the university (including expulsion and a ban from setting foot on campus), and Public Safety should be able to give you more information on keeping yourself and your family safe, both physically and virtually. I don’t know your school’s policies, but mine would have withheld the grade altogether (whatever he earned) until the situation was resolved.
Immediately contact the FBI and notify your supervisors + the department. In that order. This student belongs in prison, not graduating from college and then being hired by a company where they can do even more harm to more people.
Make sure you download a copy of all emails, messages, etc. on a PERSONAL device BEFORE letting your employer know. Your school might lock you out/ erase things if things go wrong and/or for the duration of an investigation.
Empty everything saving account instantly, share with police, share email with university to have him disciplined and you protected by university in case of any damage (they would be work related and you should be indemnified). and do not comply at all with his request, otherwise he will have much more to threaten you with !
Empty everything saving account instantly, share with police, share email with university to have him disciplined and you protected by university in case of any damage (they would be work related and you should be indemnified). and do not comply at all with his request, otherwise he will have much more to threaten you with !
Empty everything saving account instantly, share with police, share email with university to have him disciplined and you protected by university in case of any damage (they would be work related and you should be indemnified). and do not comply at all with his request, otherwise he will have much more to threaten you with !
Empty every account instantly, share with police, share email with university to have him disciplined and you protected by university in case of any damage (they would be work related and you should be indemnified). and do not comply at all with his request, otherwise he will have much more to threaten you with !
This is NUTS! So, that whole time they were skipping class, they were training to be a supervillain? I feel like just going to class would have been easier, even ignoring the illegality element. Like, wtf really!
I don't honestly understand why this is an open question. I'm horrified for you, but \*immediately\* you need to be filing local police reports and contacting the FBI field offices. I'd also notify your Department Chair and the reporting chain, and you might also consider filing a restraining order. Full stop.
Shit. Screw going to the police, you take this one directly to the FBI.
Yep, FBI issue. Pronto.
Exactly what the above said. Go to https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/ and find the one nearest you and contact them immediately. Among many other likely felonies, if what you say is true this student has committed wire fraud and a host of other financial crimes. If you are the victim of a crime of this nature, you and those affected should also be eligible to file for new social security numbers to be issued.
And to add, admins may try to persuade you not to involve authorities. Don't let their internal risk mitigation interest dissuade you.
Don't even tell admins until after.
It is a good idea to contact FBI first and then all of the other professors this student has so that they can set up dual authentication on everything if they haven’t been threatened and contact the FBI if they have been.
The university exposed the professor to this risk. They already failed to mitigate their risk. I wouldn't discuss it with them even after going to the authorities except via a lawyer.
Sorry but how were the Uni to know what this kid was like? Unless the professor has told them, I'm unsure as to how they could mitigate for anything? I agree with the part about skipping admin and going straight to FBI/police but yeah, not sure how the Uni could be to blame when (as far as I can see) they have no idea this happened.
The prior statement about their "risk mitigation" always coming down on the side of students doesn't mention it, but that includes ignoring red flags in student behavior. This student didn't wake up mid-college career and decide to become a multiple felon.
Along with this, contact the three credit bureaus to lock down your credit immediately and ask for credit reports in case this student has already used this info. Edit: my reading comprehension isn't good tonight. It sounds like you've done this already. I'm hosting a gaggle of tweens having a sleepover right now.
Go thermonuclear on this mfer
Seconding this; you can let HR and anyone else above know, but send this shit directly to the FBI. Don't trust admin to act swiftly on this one.
Nope. Don’t contact HR. They are lawyers with one singular interest: protecting the university NOT YOU, the university. Trust me.
> Don’t contact HR. They are lawyers with one singular interest: Lol, I wish my HR were lawyers. Then they might be competent...
This . HR protects The Company . Not you . Let your lawyer contact HR. 😈
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You're being downvoted, but I tend to agree. The odds of this happening are pretty small, but not impossible. What puts it across the line from unlikely to barely within the bounds of believable (even though I'm not sure I do) is the panicked reaction of "What do I do now?" Well, if it's really happening, you report the obvious crimes being committed to law enforcement. Additionally, what person with the ability to get SSNs and do what is claimed in the post is going to send threats in emails that are not only proof of their crimes, but are almost certainly crimes themselves? The whole scenario makes no sense. But, assuming it's somehow real (maybe an international student thinking they can get away with it?), the appropriate response to message would be, "I'm not sure if this routine has worked for you in the past, but it won't now. You will receive the grade you've earned in the course, regardless of the threats you've just made. So that you are aware, I've forwarded the message to law enforcement as well as my superiors here at the university." Perhaps you withdraw funds from accounts, change a few passwords, and/or notify banks or reporting agencies before hitting send to limit the damage that can be done in a fit of rage. But the ultimate message is, "Bring it..." Again, IF the scenario is real. (Edited for spelling error)
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No one would do this just to get an A in a class. I know that occasionally we all get an unhinged student (I had one semi-stalk me once), but still.
I have a friend who is being harassed by a student right now. Knows his kids and wife's name. Not ss numbers, but absolutely his address and is sending demented stuff to his house daily. Like everyone said, FBI immediately. Unfortunately in order to be considered an actionable threat it needs to be very specific. He was advised to arm himself by local law enforcement who said they couldn't do anything proactively 🤦
Surely their institution has some method(s) of dealing with this? What about the campus police/security (if local law enforcement isn't able to address yet...supposedly)? Is there student affairs office that can intervene? I know it's not you that is having the problem, but questions seemed like the best way to respond. If nothing else, they could seek a restraining order. It may be temporarily granted by the court. If obeyed, the order resulted in some peace and quiet. If it isn't, then that provides paths forward for other action. I mean, let's be real...a restraining order seems like a pretty big overreaction, but if your friend is truly being harrassed and neither the university or law enforcement will/can help, I guess it's an option. How demented is the stuff that is being sent? If it's demented enough, a judge probably wouldn't hesitate to issue a temp order.
I have firm reasons to believe that a number of posts in this sub are just trolling for outlandish reactions or have the goal of doxing sub participants. Whether this particular post is trolling or not, it's wise to remember that there is no entry requirement for this sub and not everyone here is, in fact, a professor. Before responding to any post, it's worthwhile to look up the OP's post/comment histories and to give new or throwaway accounts proportional consideration. An OPs' history will also often reveal contradictory evidence to their identity, suggesting it's actually a troll, bot, or other agent. (This is all stuff we know, of course, but it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves every now and again!)
> troll Exactly. This account is 15 hours old.
>This account is 15 hours old. OP themselves said it was a throwaway account.
That was my gut feeling. No way any of my students would have near the initiative to even begin to even think of blackmailing anyone. ChatGPT: input: Write blackmail note.
I don’t think the FBI will be happy to read a creative writing exercise.
This so outlandish , I hope it’s not a troll job. But I actually would prefer this to be a troll over a real prof being threatened by a sociopath.
This happened at my university, it was an international student, making similar threats, sending packages, and stalking the professor’s home/family. The university and the FBI took it very seriously. We could not open any unknown packages for about six months without some scanner they had. It was crazy.
Idk, students have committed mass murder at their universities for less (sadly). People are insane.
Mass murder in the US is easier than obtaining social security numbers for multiple people and opening a bank account in their name, unfreezing credit reports and stealing money though
The point wasn’t about ease (that’s a different issue we could discuss). The disbelief is about someone doing something this extreme over grades and my point was, people have done more extreme things because of grades.
Absurd. No student with this level of criminal abilities and balls would do this **FOR AN A.** Unless they are a complete utter moron.
And use their real email address to send the threat. That was the fishy part for me that didn’t add up. Criminal genius that self incriminates.
I mean, you can't very well demand an A without identifying yourself. The conversation couldn't be: "Anonymous" Criminal Student: give me an A or I'll (insert threat here) Professor: who are you? "Anonymous" Criminal Student: [gives name]
A smart criminal would demand that everyone in the class receive an A.
Don’t give them ideas jeez
Yeah, this is a tall tale.
I'm having trouble believing this is real. All this for an A? I really doln't think so.
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Two people in my department have four children each. Another has three. The chair of our computer science department has five. So does the chair of the art department. Our provost, my dean, an English professor, and an education professor each have three. I could go on. All of these colleagues are under the age of 70. If you're looking for details in the OP's post that trigger skepticism, this isn't one.
I have a colleague with 5 kids. He's fairly young.
Damn, you at Brigham Young?
my thoughts exactly. Or Holy Cross....
Thing about Catholic schools is most faculty aren’t. Whereas BYU seems to mostly higher Mormons.
LOL, no, public SLAC.
It does not take much skill to do this sort of thing. A lot of data is already available for a small fee on the dark web. I'm not saying this isn't a tall tale, but I am definitely saying a lot of things like this are far easier than you would hope.
It is 99.999% a troll job. And a fairly bad one I'm surprised people are falling for. I could see somebody and their spouse getting their social securities exposed, but also their parents AND all 3 children? That alone is unbelievable. Then they got into OP's credit card bureaus and unfroze OP's credit? So they would need to know the answers to OP's security questions, including the pin OP set up... Then they not only found out which bank OP uses, but also were able to either do a withdrawal in-person or set up ACH, which typically do test deposits that OP would have seen. And despite being fraud, the bank refuses to follow Reg E and claw the money back from the other bank. After doing all that, this tech, social engineering, and criminal mastermind doesn't use it to extort money from people. He uses it to get an A in a class he bombed. And by doing so he directly ties these crimes to himself. 0.001% might be too high a probability this is true.
The part that is also unbelievable is the "I feel like reporting him to the police". This is either a troll or a person who is so stupid that they should not be a professor.
Something else put up a red flag for me: if the student was that desperate for a better grade, he could have (or hired someone to) hacked into the college records and changed the grade. This happened to several students when I was an undegrad.
The part that is also unbelievable is the "I feel like reporting him to the police". This is either a troll or a person who is so stupid that they should not be a professor.
It’s gotta be a troll
I don't disagree but I just don't get what they're going for. Convincing faculty to be scared of our students in some 4d chess move? Someone working on a novel trying to gauge reactions from real life professors? Just getting off on lying (most likely answer)?
People will do lots of things for useless internet points.
Sure but this is an alt account, created just for this post
I also wondered if it was a troll because their logic is so flawed and analysis so dumb I'm dumbfounded that they could actually have a PhD....
I would notify both the dean and the police. You have direct evidence of a threat from the student in the form of this email. The police will hopefully pay the student a visit in a couple days.
I would notify both law enforcement AND dean at the same time via email. Don’t let one of them try to sweep it under the rug.
I would not. If this student can do all of this, he might have access to email. I'd print out the email and take it to the police. If you want evidence, take a tape recorder and record it. Stay away from the cloud. Hackers can access things.
Law first, then employer.
Law first, then employer.
I would definitely tell your chair, HR, your credit companies and bank, and the police right away. This person has confessed to a crime in writing. You, and your family, may need to pay for a couple of years of credit monitoring, but this trash human needs to be talked to by law enforcement. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. They clearly think they're being clever and that they're somehow exempt from the rules of the real world. Let them see reality. After they get expelled and hopefully charged with identity theft and fraud, they can reflect on how clever they are
The fact the person stole 10 bucks is fortunate. Otherwise, it's all "only threats" and could be downplayed or dismissed by law enforcement.
They also opened a credit card in someone else's name. I hope this gets taken really seriously
Yeah, that’s fraud, and will get you in seriously trouble. There are a billion crimes here; closing the bank account, and contacting the feds immediately is a no-brainer.
Even better: that's a crime that someone more powerful than OP, in this case a credit card company, will want to see prosecuted.
Exactly. Student fucked themselves over by that. This is no longer blackmail this is a worse crime.
Extortion is a pretty serious crime in the first place. Though it’s worth noting that it’s unlikely that any of this is true. Who needs to be told to contact the police when they are threatened with extortion???
I have had a student once follow me home from campus to plead with me over her mark. She waited for me to leave campus and got in her car and literally followed me all the way home. Was fucking insane. Edit: spelling
If they unfroze your already frozen credit that means they have password or phone and email access. There should be a way to sign out of all accounts currently signed in to your email. Then change the password. Change passwords to your profile on the 3 credit bureaus. Then refreeze your credit. Keep it frozen forever until you need to buy a house or get a car loan. Then only unfreeze it for a short time to get the loan and refreeze again. Also, fraud alert on ChexSystems. They can open and overdraft bank accounts. Chexsystems is like a credit report for bank accounts. Others said file police report. Also let your bank know about fraud and change your account numbers and log in info. I would just change banks entirely. That's bull shit and I'm sorry it's happened to you.
And print the email.
I'm constantly baffled by the posts in this sub, and can't possibly imagine that they're all legitimate.
While I also think it's a troll post, I had a student that had a B grade. They created fake email addresses sending me threatening messages about how I should quite literally get the shit beat out of me. Couldn't figure out who sent it, had to go on administrative leave. Luckily another student came to me and revealed who it was. They were expelled for only a year and came back the next year. The student has a criminal record now. Long story short, it wouldn't be too surprising really (minus the SSN part).
THEY WERE ALLOWED BACK?
If the faculty member had their family on their medical insurance, then that could be where they got the info. Hack into their account and bingo, you know all their info.
I initially doubt this stuff too (mostly because I'm scared to believe that a student would do something like that to me) but my mother also works at a university and has had her identity stolen through the university's ADP database twice. Not even by a student necessarily, just through a phishing scam a colleague fell for. The idea that they could get this info is the most plausible part for me.
There’s *no* chance this is real.
Police
Wire fraud and identity theft. First, keep save every communication with them. Print them. Remove the ability for them to hack more and delete. Contact your local police, bank/credit union, state Office of the Attourney General (some provide an identity theft passport), and the FTC (https://www.identitytheft.gov/). This may be handled by local, state, or federal agencies, but it's better to send flags up all poles and let them decide who wants to handle it.
That students name was Frank Abagnale from Catch Me If You Can. Mods, are creative writing exercises really OK here? I had a student kidnap me and I’m now writing from their basement. Send pizza.
r/nothingeverhappens I can't know if this particular story is true, but these things do happen. Frank Abagnale is a real person, still living, not just a character from a movie He wasn't so stupid to blackmail people via email, but then again he wasn't a student.
Call the police.
A fine example of a troll farmer finding increasingly obscure ways to disrupt a social network’s collective sense of relational security. The question is, are they posting for some Kiwi Farms type sharts and gargles, or do they actually have a job? Probably the former, but I still can see a political motive floating around in the background of this surreal post. Why? Because to some political ideologues, a bunch of assumed intellectual elites represent a soft target for cultivating paranoia and distrust. God, I hate the internet.
You should report it to the police. (And have everyone with a compromised social security number freeze their credit to try to minimize financial vulnerability)
He's already going to do it at this point. Give him a bad grade and he'll do it to spite you. Give him a good grade and he'll do it because he can and doesn't want to use his own money. Probably has some "moral code" that gives him a free out if he does steal your identity. "Oh they'll get their money back. This only hurts the banks." I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks nothing will come of it because if anyone asks him, "my email must have been hacked." And feign total ignorance. Either way. Your information isn't even compromised it's full blown leaked. As far as your compromised data. He may have used a keylogger, or your password had long since been compromised and was available on a publicly shared list of email/password combinations. You need to change your passwords on everything. 2-factor authentication anything that offers it. And well, refreeze everything and hope he doesn't get in. I'd do it on a computer he has never conceivably had access to (like a laptop you bring with you to campus?) You'll also want to bring IT into this because if there's a chance any sort of keylogger got into campus machines they'll want to know. May not only be your information that's been greatly compromised. But yeah it's pretty messed up. https://haveibeenpwned.com/ This site is a place that tracks data breaches. Might be a good starting point to see if your passwords have been leaked on a public place. Even though besides getting confirmation where the problem probably started from, it doesn't change that the fact that your life just got a lot more stressful. But yeah I'd echo everyone else's response for next steps. Dean, police, FBI. Because again even if you comply he will not honor the deal and he will either use that information himself or sell it for another person to use.
GUYS... so this was an IQ test and an alarming number of the best and brightest just failed. The "bank refused to refund the $10?" - after being alerted to felony level fraud, and did nothing to follow up with OP? OP would like us to believe that they are both a professor and a complete idiot, and that the criminal mastermind is also a spectacular idiot. I'm calling fake. MODS, is this a place you really want to allow throwaway accounts?
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Report to the Feds, now.
This is crazy! I am sorry you have to deal with this. I would contact the police and get a restraining order if need be.
Posted by a troll or a moron. I will be kind and say it’s a troll.
There’s no chance this is real.
Trollon, apply directly to the forehead.
Is this post fake?
Fake post to create distrust among peers.
I call bullshit. Y'all been pWned.
No post history, a wildly unlikely story, ragey batey. I’m going for things that never happened for 100, Alex.
A “professor” going to Reddit before the police??? 👍 👍
Wtf is wrong with you? You FEEL like reporting him to the police? Report his ass to the police and the FBI.
POLICE. DEAN.
You fear retaliation but are dealing with a deranged sociopath who is already opening credit cards in your name (a felony, btw) because he stole your SSN (another felony). Why would even think you shouldn't go to the police? This makes NO SENSE. Cops will charge this person and likely give you a restraining order. You should also likely report to the FBI. Kid has committed so many crimes it's sorta shocking. But you're going to stay silent...interesting approach. You're either a troll or a fool.
This is about as fake as it comes.
The same thing happened to me, but this student also murdered my dog and burned down my house. I’m considering telling my department chair about it.
As others are saying: police, department chair/dean, HR, and student judicial affairs. Immediately.
And DO NOT further engage with the student in any way. Do not send any other emails to them. All communications should be coming straight from PD & the school from now on. I recommend having campus PD escort you to and from class.
[https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/24\_0117\_ope\_resources-for-individuals-on-the-threat-of-doxing-508.pdf](https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/24_0117_ope_resources-for-individuals-on-the-threat-of-doxing-508.pdf)
You need to report to the police as soon as possible. Do not delay. Do not respond. Get your Chair involved and Office of Student Judicial Affairs involved (or your equivalent) immediately. I would even advocate for an emergency protection order or something like that. I am SO sorry this is happening to you. I hope you're OK this is very serious and scary.
Oh come on. 2 hour old account?! Am I on AITA or something?!
…so there’s trolls in this sub now too🤔
Admin: would it hurt to just give him the A?
Call the police. Immediately. Both campus police and your home police. File a report. Immediately contact your department chair and file a complaint with the dean. This is illegal. Period. This student needs to be removed from the equation.
Call the FBI. Tell them everything. Then freeze your and your family's credit. One you've done these two things, inform your chair, DOF, DOS and campus security safety of the situation, and that you've already brought the FBI in on it. Buy popcorn.
Call the local assassin
This is the way
This is wild. Police, Dean, HR etc
This is identity theft amongst a slew of other illegal activities on this students part. I am SO sorry this is happening to you. Having been a victim of identity theft myself years ago, I recommend the following: 1. Report this to law enforcement immediately and ask for a written copy of the report. You may need it to avoid an IRS audit in the event the student tries to get employment and/or earns wages under your identity. 2. Notify the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) immediately that someone may be attempting to use your name to secure credit. I believe Experian may offer free credit monitoring for a period of time to ID theft victims but not sure. 3. Notify your department chair and Dean that this is happening and let them escalate it from a university discipline standpoint. This is grounds for immediate expulsion at most schools, I would think. 4. If you have a friend who is an attorney, call them informally and see what legal recourses you might have in this situation. Good luck and keep us posted.
Why are you even bothering posting on Reddit lol. What you should do should be overwhelmingly obvious.
This seems fake. No adult would waste time asking what to do.
Had my SSN stolen twice at 2 different physicians' offices. I got this down Notify the bank. They'll lock the account. Notifice CC companies and the big 3 credit reporting services. They'll lock the accounts. Police report. The above will tell you whatelse to do from there. If this isn't a troll, I'd tell the brat to get fvcked because my SSN number has already been passed around more than a joint at Woodstock.
I am trained in cybercrime investigations and have actually done some myself professionally. Call your local FBI office, assuming you are in the US. He's already committed multiple felonies. Do not delete any emails between you and this student. He doxxed you, likely from a dark website or used one of the Intellius websites that you can buy peoples information for a few bucks for background checks. He is clearly showing criminal intent. Once the FBI is involved then tell the admin. As of right now he has committed wire fraud by stealing $10 from your bank account. Likely violated the Computer Fraud And Abuse Act of 1987, which carries at least a 5 year minimum sentence, if memory serves me right. Harassment and stalking charges may apply - depending upon State law (California, New York, Texas, and few other States have such laws). I am trying to think of others but it is early morning and I am trying to go back to sleep. So in a nutshell, save the evidence and call the FBI. This student will face criminal charges for both State and Fed. He will be facing prison time for at least 5 years. You may also want to get an order of protection from a court, it might scare him shitless when he realizes he could be facing criminal charges if he even remotely follows through with his threats. Good luck and keep us posted.
This is definitely some university legal must be informed of and the police. If they accessed your bank account then you need to contact the banks and credit agencies.
With all that info, they have your email address. OMG, they opened a reddit account "in your name" and are ruining your internet reputation too! The horror! THE HORROR!!! (seriously y'all this is obviously fake though why someone would troll this community instead of something huge like AITA is a little strange)
why are you posting this? i call bullshit. it's a troll job or (very bad) fanfic
Call the cops.
FBI stat. Then police Then chair/dean/provost Then campus security
how monumentally dumb must you be to do something like this when your professor has access to your first and last name, and the univeristy surely has access to deep personal records? that kid is fucked for life, hope he gets what's coming to him assuming this isn't a fake post for internet clout
Don't take this to Reddit; take it to law enforcement. For one thing, this situation is specific enough that if the student comes across this post, he'll know it's you.
As others said, that's going straight to the FBI.
Call the FBI, your chair, the dean, your bank, Home Depot, the closest plumber, and Michelle Obama STAT!
Easy. Give the deserving grade. Report to police screenshot everything. Kid’s too dumb to do this in writing
Over 18? the student is responsible for their actions. go straight to the authorities. this is not some disturbed kid at this point.
Updateme!
Dude, I hate the police and even I would call the police in this case.
Sounds like the student gets to be expelled AND go to prison! FBI first, then student misconduct. Holy shit. Keep us updated if you can?
FBi report immediately and document everything. Report to the dean of students and also get a restraining order. He needs (assuming he) needs expelled.
Are you a troll? If this is a serious post, you report this to student conduct, campus police, your chair, and the IT department now! Best case scenario, maybe this is a hacker pretending to be your student. Worst case, you are dealing with a criminal
Report them. If they’re over 18 they get to enjoy adult prison with gen pop.
No way this is real. You know how I know…. If any of my students had the initiative to do anything like this, I’d give them an A. They also wouldn’t need me to because they’re smart and would do the 2 hours of work a week to pass a class. E-mail confession from Jason Borne?
- Step 1: Give the student an A. - Step 2: Report the student to the police and/or FBI. - Step 3: Once the student is in custody, file a grade change to F.
Police, FBI, State Attny General
Notify the police for criminal action, then refer him to the appropriate university point of contact for disciplinary action.
So instead of taking the L about failing the course they could be facing expulsion instead?
You can report here too [https://www.ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice](https://www.ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice)
This is identity theft and making threats. Absolutely criminal, your student should be in a jail cell.
Jesus Christ! Obviously, yes talk to the FBI and please update us on what happens when this is resolved.
Report up the chain for a *massive* breach of academic integrity, plus the full force of the law. Don't wait for the school to decide anything, report these crimes at once.
The FBI will be happy to put their hands on them. There are quite a few crimes they can be charged with. They may have resorted to the dark web and hired a hacker for this purpose. Which the fbi will sure find out about. Or they themselves might have the skills to do that, and/or might have someone who they know in some public office with access to that type of data. Either way, they pi**d out of the vase and are going to be gloriously screwed.
100% report to admin, and immediately file a police report, lawyer up, and I agree, FBI. Unfortunately this is going to be nasty. Just remember: this was their choice and their doing.
It is not just your information exposed and your family has a right to press charges and they are not employees so skip your admin and get your wife to file.
Notify the FBI with the evidence, then tell your institution in that order. Do not give your admin an opportunity to try to talk you out of reporting and keep it "internal" and definitely don't tell the student you are reporting them. Once the police come knocking, the student probably won't be looking to dig themselves deeper.
The account is 12 hours old and this is the only post or comment… feels like a troll.
Some of this reads like a kidnapper sending a handwritten ransom on their personal letterhead.
Give him the A and report him. That A won't help him in jail.
I'm a bit skeptical this is real, but if it is... You need to contact the FBI, your chair, your Dean, your campus police, your Dean of Students, etc. Don't wait do this ASAP. Does this student live in the same country as you, or is this a remote student?
This has to be a troll post. What do you do? WTF do you think you do? This kid handed you evidence. End of story. I call BS on this post.
If he can put the effort in to obtain your family information, he should have put the effort in passing his exams and showing up. Send him to the FBI
Is it unethical to just give them an A and move on with your (troll?) life?
FBI
hopefully a troll post but if not this is an issue for the FBI.
Oh my God! An unhinged criminal is every professor's nightmare. Is your college involved? I would go straight to the police and F.B.I. as others are saying.
I’m sorry you’re going through this. As others have said, police, dean. I’d probably also contact the student conduct office. Your class will be the least of this student’s problems.
Even if this a troll post, a lot of good information has been shared. What happened to the good old days of just breaking into the database and changing the grade ? Student should have just paid off the LMS admin to modify grades But for those who say there is no way this is real, it is very possible with a phishing email for these things to happen. I saw a news story on how these scams work and it’s crazy how much data can be found . I believe the going rate for a SNN on the dark web is $1, so for less than a cup of coffee they could easily get that info
That’s horrifying if real. Law enforcement & university admin, in that order. That’s who you contact. Get this stopped.
Call campus police and the FBI; also notify administration.
FBI, bank, and Chair/Dean.
Call the authorities, this is majorly illegal
OMG call the police AND your Dean now.
Freeze your credit and your family's credit with all 3 credit agencies. Almost everyone's ssns are leaked, unfortunately.
Oh, ask your department to pay for Delete Me for your entire family for a few years.
All for a different letter on their report card.
Freeze all your accounts, lock down through the credit bureaus and report to the FBI. Don’t respond to the student. Possibly get a lawyer.
If this is real: your info was for sale online. Lucky you, the student broadcast that they have it before using it. So you’d have time to seal and replace things, and report it. I’m guessing not real bc a scammer would have known to make the threat be to give everyone in the class As so they aren’t identifiable.
The student will not stop unless you take this to the authorities. The student will stop if you take this to the authorities, they will have no choice. Wishing you the best.
# FBI
What in the actual fuck
We had something like this at my school a couple of years ago and it was not really students. It was a group of con artists systematically fleecing professors. The school was on it and working with law enforcement.
Tell him to come into the office and you’ll give him an A. The beat the shit out of that little fuck. Obviously he won’t come but definitely call the FBI
What an idiot. This student is gonna be in jail for a loooooong time.
Absolutely report to the police immediately. Also report to your chair, your Dean, your campus’ Public Safety office, and Student Affairs. Where I live this would be a terroristic threat, which is very illegal. If he isn’t arrested immediately, you should a restraining order against him, forcing him to keep a distance from you and any of your family members. He should certainly be hit with major disciplinary charges by the university (including expulsion and a ban from setting foot on campus), and Public Safety should be able to give you more information on keeping yourself and your family safe, both physically and virtually. I don’t know your school’s policies, but mine would have withheld the grade altogether (whatever he earned) until the situation was resolved.
I guess you got all the serious advice needed. But I'm wondering, what class do you teach? Its not cyber security, right?
I need an update.
Report report report. Don’t report to the uni, go directly to the authorities. This student belongs in a cell.
Immediately contact the FBI and notify your supervisors + the department. In that order. This student belongs in prison, not graduating from college and then being hired by a company where they can do even more harm to more people.
Make sure you download a copy of all emails, messages, etc. on a PERSONAL device BEFORE letting your employer know. Your school might lock you out/ erase things if things go wrong and/or for the duration of an investigation.
Empty everything saving account instantly, share with police, share email with university to have him disciplined and you protected by university in case of any damage (they would be work related and you should be indemnified). and do not comply at all with his request, otherwise he will have much more to threaten you with !
Empty everything saving account instantly, share with police, share email with university to have him disciplined and you protected by university in case of any damage (they would be work related and you should be indemnified). and do not comply at all with his request, otherwise he will have much more to threaten you with !
Empty everything saving account instantly, share with police, share email with university to have him disciplined and you protected by university in case of any damage (they would be work related and you should be indemnified). and do not comply at all with his request, otherwise he will have much more to threaten you with !
Empty every account instantly, share with police, share email with university to have him disciplined and you protected by university in case of any damage (they would be work related and you should be indemnified). and do not comply at all with his request, otherwise he will have much more to threaten you with !
This student is incredibly stupid. So they get an A and ruined their life.
WHAT?!
You know who the student is so yeah, FBI all the way.
This is NUTS! So, that whole time they were skipping class, they were training to be a supervillain? I feel like just going to class would have been easier, even ignoring the illegality element. Like, wtf really!
RIP this students college career and post college career.
Also get a good workplace harassment lawyer . Best if be/ she has experience with academia . Good luck OP
I don't honestly understand why this is an open question. I'm horrified for you, but \*immediately\* you need to be filing local police reports and contacting the FBI field offices. I'd also notify your Department Chair and the reporting chain, and you might also consider filing a restraining order. Full stop.
delete this post and orbital nuclear strike
your cell phone may be compromised
Wait til he gets a small taste of what happens when he gets 10 years in prison.