West Virginia

WVU Today | WVU issues Community Notice for reported phone fraud

Published

2 years ago

June 5, 2024

WVU Today | WVU issues Community Notice for reported phone fraud

West Virginia University Police issued a Community Notice following recent fraud reports.

On June 5, University Police received multiple calls from parents of WVU students who reported receiving a telephone call from a person identifying themselves as a WVUPD officer who told them their student was in trouble and facing legal issues.

The parents informed WVUPD the original call came up as a Fairmont phone number. In one instance, the caller requested digital payment via Apple Pay and PayPal to resolve the issues. The caller also identified themselves using an actual WVUPD officer’s name and called the parent back from a spoofed phone number associated with WVUPD.

WVUPD is reminding the community that no one from the police department will ever request digital payments to resolve any type of criminal issues or threaten to arrest or obtain warrants for someone if payment is not received.

Scams like this are occurring locally and nationally and some agencies have reported individuals have gone as far as emailing victims fake law enforcement credentials to gain their trust. Scammers will also use scare tactics and threatening language to intimidate victims into paying as soon as possible.

The WVUPD telephone numbers — 304-293-3136 or 304-293-2677 — can be spoofed. Anyone who receives a call from a WVUPD telephone number and suspects it may be fraudulent should hang up and call the number back. These numbers will go directly to the WVUPD Dispatch Center where operators can verify the original call. Any scam calls should be reported.

WVU is committed to providing a safe campus for the protection of the University community. University officials remind the community to remain vigilant and consider other personal safety tips, advice and services located at safety.wvu.edu and police.wvu.edu.

The following safety tips are designed to help avoid potential scam-related crimes.

• THINK BEFORE YOU PAY

· Don’t wire money, send cash, or use gift cards or cryptocurrency to pay someone who has sent you a sudden urgent request. Scammers ask you to pay these ways because it’s hard to track that money and almost impossible to get it back. They’ll take your money and disappear.

· Don’t give your financial or other personal information to someone who calls, texts or emails and says they’re with the government, police or other enforcement agency. If you think a call or message could be real, stop. Hang up the phone and call the agency directly at a number you know is correct.

· Don’t trust your caller ID. Your caller ID might show the government agency’s real phone number or even say “Social Security Administration,” for example. But caller ID can be faked. It could be anyone calling from anywhere in the world.

• IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE BEEN SCAMMED

· Refuse to pay any ransoms. If you have already paid, notify your bank and request a refund. In cases where a gift card was purchased, contact the issuing company and ask for a refund.

· Stop all communication. Save all communications and stop all contact. The scammer will continue to try to reach you, but do not reply.

· Freeze your accounts. Contact your banking institution and request a freeze be placed on all of your accounts. You can also contact the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — and do the same.

· Run a security scan. If you used a computer, run an antivirus scan and remove any access the scammer may have on the device.

· Change passwords. Change and update all online passwords to avoid being locked out by the scammer.

· Contact law enforcement. In addition to contacting UPD at 304-293-3136, file a complaint with the FBI IC3 at www.ic3.gov.

· Contact WVU Defend Your Data. Report all suspicious emails received at your WVU Outlook emails to defendyoursata@mail.wvu.edu.

West Virginia University Resources

Students and employees are also encouraged to follow the WVU Safety and Wellness Facebook page and @WVUsafety on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A Community Notice is part of the WVU three-tiered emergency notification system used to enhance student and employee safety and provide useful information to the community.

-WVU-

UPD/6/5/24

MEDIA CONTACT: Shauna Johnson
Director of News Communications
University Relations
304-293-8302; sjohns13@mail.wvu.edu

Call 1-855-WVU-TODAY for the latest West Virginia University news and information from WVUToday.

Source link

West Virginia

E-News | Suggest topics for Mountain State Conference on Disabilities

Published

2 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

E-News | Suggest topics for Mountain State Conference on Disabilities

People with disabilities, families, caregivers, professionals, students and trainees are invited to take a brief survey to help choose the topics covered at the 2027 Mountain State Conference on Disabilities.

The survey is a great opportunity to ensure the conference covers topics that are important to you.

Complete the survey.

Source link

West Virginia

Alarms continue to sound over future of public education – WV MetroNews

Published

12 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

Alarms continue to sound over future of public education – WV MetroNews

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

At this point, Paul Hardesty, President of the West Virginia Board of Education, must be on the precipice of losing his mind. During a recent call with reporters, Hardesty again emphasized the dire financial outlook for the state’s public schools. Enrollment continues to decline, and more school closures and consolidations may be coming next year.

It’s not the first time Hardesty has sounded the alarm.

Hardesty has repeatedly pointed out that public schools are withering under the current school-aid formula and burdensome regulations.

Some state lawmakers have received the message but during the 2026 60-day legislative session, while there was more discussion that legislative action is needed to address growing financial strains, ultimately, there was not enough political will for state lawmakers to take any action.

Senator Amy Nicole Grady, R-Mason, chairs the Senate Education Committee and is a public school teacher. She has spent the last three years trying to educate her fellow legislators about the frustrations teachers and school officials deal with on a daily basis.

“We know it’s nothing new. It’s something we have discussed for at least three years now, knowing that we need to move forward and change that formula in some way. But how we change it, that’s the challenge,” Grady said during an appearance on Metronews Talkline.

Grady recognizes the “how” is the major stumbling block for legislators who must make difficult decisions and must then face unhappy constituents.

“It’s very, very difficult, and this is something that’s big that really takes a lot of thinking, and it can require a lot of hard, difficult decisions, and you also have that model of self-preservation.

“A lot of people are thinking, this is hard for me to make this decision. I don’t want to make this decision because it could mean my seat. But when it’s the right thing, it’s the right thing regardless.”

House Education Committee Chairman Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, has also been on the front line trying to build a case for legislators to support major changes. Statler has repeatedly emphasized the gap in special education funding, where costs continue to outpace revenues.

The number of special education students continues to grow, now making up nearly 21 percent of the student population.

It is not only the legislature that has not found the political fortitude to address public education. It has not been a priority for the executive branch either.

Gov. Morrisey focused his political capital on accelerating the elimination of the personal income tax and preventing changes to the Hope Scholarship.

You can’t help but question whether the lack of action is due to a lack of political will or indifference to public schools’ failure. There’s no doubt that outside interest groups, many of which have supported legislative campaigns, have indicated a preference for alternative education choices.

Either way, if lawmakers continue to ignore the tidal wave of financial failures in the public education system, they will have abdicated their constitutional duty to provide West Virginia students with a “free and efficient” education system.

Source link

West Virginia

It Took 10 Years, but WVU Women’s Basketball Finally Has Another West Virginia Native

Published

23 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Press Room

It Took 10 Years, but WVU Women’s Basketball Finally Has Another West Virginia Native

For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the West Virginia Mountaineers women’s basketball roster will feature a West Virginia native.

Wheeling product Alexis Bordas transfers in after having a tremendous freshman season up the road at Duquesne, where she averaged 15.5 points (ranked fifth in the A-10) and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc. At season’s end, she was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team.

Morgantown’s Olivia Seggie was the last West Virginia-born player on the women’s hoops roster.

Of course, WVU was Bordas’ dream school. Pretty much her entire family went to school here and grew up coming to Mountaineer games, so Mark Kellogg probably didn’t have to do much convincing once he made it known that they wanted her.

“Chase Harler’s from Wheeling, so I came to a lot of his games. Jevon Carter, my brother, loved him. We watched a lot more of the men back then, but Kysre Gondrezick, she was someone that I always watched.”

When asked what it’s like to finally be in a Mountaineer uniform and practicing with the group, she responded, “Yeah, it’s great to finally be here and get to meet all my teammates and become such good friends with them already. It’s been super fun, and just seeing the difference from day one to now, and how much we’ve progressed already, it’s super exciting to see.

“All the fan support last night, we had an event, and just seeing all the fans and how it’s June, and everyone’s already so excited and rallies around this team,” she added. “I know it’s extra special being from West Virginia, and I’m sure lots of little girls will look up to me and hope to be playing here one day, so it’s great to be a role model for them, too.”

Nine times last season, Bordas registered 20+ points, and of course, as a true West Virginian would, she had her best performance against the Pitt Panthers, dropping 38 on them in an 84-69 win. She went 11/22 from the field in that one, including a 10/18 day from three-point range.

Bordas is a high-volume shooter from range, as 58.8% of her attempts came from downtown last season. When you shoot 34% from there and can maybe hit the high 30s, no one will care about the shot diet being so reliant on the three-ball.

Under the new rules, Bordas will have four years of eligibility remaining.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Source link