An e-mail sent to residents of Brown College yesterday warned students of suspicious phone calls from people claiming to be affiliated with the University who were asking for money.
The e-mail, sent by Resident Staff member Shaheen Ali, urged students not to offer personal information over the phone.
A student who wished to remain anonymous because of concerns for her safety said she received two such phone calls several weeks apart.
The phone calls were not from Charlottesville area codes, she said.
"They knew my name," she said. "They said they were from [University] health services ... and that I had around a $206 fine."
The first phone call was from a man and the second from a woman, the student said, adding that the second time the same woman called back from a different number after the student hung up on her.
The woman on the other line demanded to know why the student had hung up on her, the student explained.
The student said she reported the incident to her resident advisor, but did not call the police.
"I thought about it, but I was looking up some information about it and a lot of people said the best way to do it ... is to hang up on them," she said.
University Police Sgt. Melissa Fielding said she had not heard any reports about students receiving suspicious phone calls.
"It hasn't been a trend to my knowledge, at least that students are reporting," she said.
Interim Dean of Students Allen Groves also said he has not heard any reports from students about suspicious calls, but encouraged them to report any problems with cell phone security they may encounter.
"To my knowledge we would never use cell phones to ask students about fees," he said.
The student said she did not give the callers any personal information.
"Immediately I knew it wrong," she said. "It was completely suspect."
The second call the student received was about a week ago, she noted.
"I haven't gotten any calls since," she said. "I hope that's the end of it."
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