By
Jose Ceja
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Illegitimate vendors might push fraudulent magazine subscriptions, trips
UA event coordinators are warning students against unauthorized vendors on campus who claim to sell bargain magazine subscriptions.
Some students who have purchased these subscriptions later realized that they did not get a receipt and usually do not receive the magazines, said Diane Newman, UA Mall events coordinator.
Newman said illegitimate vendors should be easy to spot because they usually sit on benches, carry clipboards and give no sign of permanence.
Newman added they may also use expensive day planners to give a sense of legitimacy.
"If someone is standing around with a bunch of T-shirts on his or her arm and a clipboard, there's a good chance that he or she should not be there," she said.
Legitimate vendors, Newman said, will only be stationed on the Mall in front of the Memorial Student Union and on the Park Student Union Terrace, and will have a permit.
Scammers may prey on students near the University of Arizona Bookstore, or in front of the Main Library, Harvill Building, and residence halls, Newman said.
"These are good looking, college-aged people," she said. "They get dropped off on campus in the morning and then they are on the move all day."
Many of these vendors, Newman added, are very insistent and may try to intimidate students into purchasing bargain magazine subscriptions or even travel packages.
"Some of these vendors are merciless," she said. "You will be trying to study and they squat down and shove stuff in your face."
Newman urged students to call UAPD if they feel threatened by any vendors, or call her at the Mall scheduling office to see if the seller is authorized to be on campus.
Susan Ferrell, legal services adviser for the UA Associated Students, said students may be targeted by unauthorized vendors because they can be naive and usually have some "disposable income."
On Feb. 26, a UA student reported to UAPD that she was scammed out of $80 while walking across the Mall.
The student told police she had been approached on the UA Mall by two men in their early 20s who said they were selling magazine subscriptions to earn points for a trip.
When the student returned to her dorm, she began to suspect that she had been scammed because she did not receive a receipt for the $80 in magazine subscriptions she purchased.
Police were unable to find the suspects - something Ferrell said is common in these kinds of scams.
Ferrell said that although scammed students will usually not see their money again, they can contact her or Newman to inform other students.
To report a scam, contact Newman at 626-2630, Ferrell at 621-7588 or UAPD at 621-8273.
