Concordia Edmonton student calls for better education for international students regarding scams

An international student at Concordia University of Edmonton is calling for better education for students about scams after losing almost $11K. Parisa Ghanbari fell victim to a phone scammer who pretended to be from the federal government. Fearing deportation, Ghanbari was pressured into withdrawing funds that were intended for her tuition and depositing them at a bitcoin ATM. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but at that time, I was so scared that I could believe anything because, to be honest, I don’t know how things work in this country,” said Ghanbari. Concordia Edmonton has offered Ghanbari information on scholarships, has extended her tuition deadline, and has sent an email notifying students of the scam. Concordia Students’ Association President Navleen Kaur said that students need to receive frequent reminders about scams through email and social media, and shared that the association has made plans to warn students more frequently about scams. CBC Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.