Fraudulent activity across campus robbed students of cash and credit card information.

Two males, who have yet to be identified, entered large classrooms last week promoting paintball outing vouchers. They pushed the fake vouchers onto students who had two payment options — to either pay cash or have their credit card information either written down or copied using carbon paper.

Described as calm and convincing, they made presentations at the beginning or end of classes with professor consent. Both professors and students did not think their presentations out of the ordinary as student groups present in front of classes on a daily basis.

Students were offered $50 coupons for $10. The coupons were redeemable for all-day paintball with masks, guns and CO2 included. All students had to pay for were paintballs.

Michael Jensen, a junior in animal science, purchased one of the vouchers while taking a physics class in Riddick Hall. He said the two perpetrators looked students in the eye and spoke confidently, which led him to believe they were legitimate.

“I didn’t notice them as being nervous at all. They weren’t twiddling their fingers or shaking. It was a shock to me when my professor emailed me letting me know what was going on,” Jensen said.

Jensen paid $10 cash for a ticket advertising for Extreme Paintball in Durham, N.C. He had yet to check whether the card is worth anything, but he said he was skeptical.

“I looked it over, and it looked legit. I haven’t called to check, but I didn’t think it was forged. $10 for a $50 ticket seemed like a pretty good deal,” Jensen said.

Student body president Chandler Thompson has been on top of the situation. She learned about the scam via Facebook, and notified Provost Warwick Arden and other high-ranking University administrators. During the first Student Government cabinet meeting of the year, Thompson brought up the incident. She said five S.G. representatives raised their hands when asked whether they had been in a class visited by the alleged con artists. “For as many people in the [cabinet meeting] to have heard the presentation, I figured that a good number of students were presented to by these people. [Cabinet members] made it seem like a lot of students paid for these tickets,” Thompson said.

Collin March, a junior in political science, was one of the student government members in the cabinet meeting who raised his hand. He was in a large beekeeping class when he heard the presentation.

“I have known organizations will do a quick reminder [about their organization’s events] before class, but I have never had anyone try to sell me anything,” March said.

People who present in classes are generally required to have a permit. The two individuals gave their presentation in Donald Ellison’s physics class. Ellison, a professor in physics, said he learned through Campus Police a day later that the people who entered his class were frauds.

Jensen was in Ellison’s class that day.

“I did not suspect there was anything wrong. I had no reason to believe that there was fraud involved,” Ellison said.  

Ellison sent out an email to students in his class notifying them to contact Campus Police if they had given the fraudsters cash or credit card information. He has not seen the perpetrators since. 

Ellison has been a professor for 25 years, and has never before heard of anything similar to this incident.  He described the event as a shock.

“I would guess a maximum of five people [gave them money]. I have about 100 people in my class,” Ellison said.