La Trobe Tuition Fee Reduction Scam

Scammers are currently targeting La Trobe students by offering them ‘tuition fee reductions’ if they pay through them. Read more about the scam here: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/mylatrobe/scam-alert-tuition-fees/?fbclid=IwAR3DsDAnaIWqqVo5BqNRPnIX4ut2350OrYfqbjwozuR5Xyhgbd1-DGkvNdY

Dear Jane Citizen,

I hope you are ready to kick off Semester 2, 2021!

RaldoServices has partnered with La Trobe University to offer a 50% tuition fee reduction to 15 [1] La Trobe students in recognition of their excellent academic performance in Semester 1, 2021.

It gives me great pleasure to let you know that you are a recipient of the RaldoServices Scholarship – congratulations! This award is a great accomplishment and reflective of your commitment to your studies.

To receive the tuition fee discount, please make your tuition fee payment through the following link. The payment gateway will automatically apply the fee discount and initiate the payment transfer to the University. Upon successful payment, you will receive a payment confirmation email acknowledging your fund transfer.

Please note that the link above contains your auto sign-in link and will expire within the next couple of hours for security reasons.[2]

Link to the payment gateway: www.raldoscolarship[3].com/paymentportal

Congratulations again, and we wish you all the best with your future studies or work endeavours.

Yours sincerely,

John Hammers

VP - Marketing and Communications [4]

RaldoServices Pty Ltd | Victoria 3076 Australia

E: j.hammers@raldoprofessionals[5].com

[1] – this statement has used the principle of Distraction and Social Proof – the 50% tuition fee reduction is a honeypot designed to divert your focus from verifying the authenticity of the unknown company ‘RaldoServices’. The email also claims that 15 recipients have been chosen for the award, psychologically making the recipient feel secure as there are others in the ‘same boat’.

[2] – this statement elicits again uses the principle of distraction by inducing a sense of emergency and subsequently raising your emotional state. It makes you imagine a situation where you might lose the scholarship if the required action is not done and further distracts you from verifying the authenticity of the email.

[3] and [5] – the domain name specified in the link is spelt wrong in [3] and different to the name of the company in [5], suggesting that it is fake. However, the recipient might not notice this due to their high emotional state and lack of attention to detail due to the email stripping off their rational thinking ability.

[4] – the email claims to be coming from a Vice President – a high-level authority. This follows the principles of authority and persuades the user to avoid cross-questioning.

Impact of Making a Payment Through ‘RaldoServices’

• The scammer might receive your transaction and not make a payment to the University, leaving you with debt to the University.

• The debt might restrict you from enrolling for the upcoming semester, cause frustration, depression, and anxiety.

• You are also unlikely to recover the money you paid to the scammer.