Students have reported scammers operating around Sidgwick Avenue, posing as deaf people or claiming to represent charities supporting deaf causes.

The scammers are said to approach students carrying clipboards with forms that appear to contain false signatures and pre-filled financial details, before asking for donations or bank information.

One student who was scammed over a month ago told Varsity that, on the way to Sidgwick Site “this woman came up to me with a clipboard and just pointed at it – she didn’t actually speak at all,” and that she “said something about a charity to help build a centre for deaf kids”.

“They take your donation and then they just keep charging your account randomly afterwards,” the student claimed. They explained that they had agreed to give a £10 donation on the form, but after the initial £10 was withdrawn from their bank account, an additional £6 and then a further £3 were also taken, all a couple of days apart.

As a result of the scam, the student said they had to order a new bank card. However, they said that the issue was linked to Apple Pay, and that they had to disable Apple Pay on their original card in order to stop the payments.

Another student claimed that the scammers have been actively targeting students for weeks, saying: “I encountered them for the first time around the start of term, and, most recently, on Tuesday (03/02).

“I encountered the scammers four times in total – each time it was just past the traffic lights leading up to Sidge. The interaction was the same all four times – a person walked over to me and told me, ‘I’m deaf, I read lips’, and they said that they were trying to raise money for a school. They then showed me a clipboard with some more information about it, and some signatures were already on the piece of paper. I then said I was busy and walked away.”

The student told Varsity that the sign-up sheet said they were raising money to “build a national centre for the dumb, deaf and the handicapped and the poor children”.

The head porter at Newnham College sent three emails to students at the College around two weeks ago, alerting them of the issue.

In the first email, sent on 19/02, they wrote: “The Police are aware and concerned that they are targeting students, so please be careful, avoid being drawn into providing any personal information and politely decline any requests for payment. If it’s a genuine survey or questionnaire, they should not be asking for money.

“If you have been stopped or are in the future, please let me know and I can (anonymously if you wish) pass on your experience to the Police.”

A second email followed on 20/02, stating: “Unfortunately, we seem to have had a few experiences with this group of scammers. The additional information I have received is that the scammers were claiming to be from a support group for the deaf and, in some cases, may be pretending to be deaf themselves. That ‘cause’ may of course change over time. I know how uncomfortable these things can be to relive, so l’d like to thank all those who felt able to reply and share their experience.”

The third email, sent on the same day, explained that “a College member who made a donation […] called the bank after my email, [and] was advised that a block should be placed on the card and a new one ordered”. Students who believed they may have been affected were advised to “consider this precautionary step”.

The Cambridge University Islamic Society (CUISoc) also warned its members of the scamming incidents in an email sent last month.

The email read: “We’ve been made aware of scammers operating near Sidgwick Site and Avenue, including close to the Prayer Room. They may approach students with clipboards, sometimes posing as or claiming to support deaf individuals or charitable causes, and may ask for donations or bank details.”

They suggested that students “ask for a registered charity number if needed,” and added: “If you have shared your details and are concerned, please contact your bank as soon as possible for advice on how to secure your account.”

Another student approached by one of the scammers on Tuesday (03/03) told Varsity: “I was on my way to a lecture at around midday, and a woman approached me on Sidgwick Avenue with a clipboard, pointing to her lips and indicating that she was deaf but could lipread. She showed me a form with a couple of seemingly fake signatures and credit card details filled in, explaining that they needed as many donations as possible to help support deaf and poor children. Throughout the interaction, she appeared to be pretending to use sign language while speaking.”

A student who encountered the scammers at the start of term also shared with Varsity: “I was just walking between the crossroads and Sidgwick, and there were about five people with clipboards dotted around the pavements. They were waving at people to stop and asked me to take off my headphones so that I could sign a clipboard for what I think they said was a deaf charity.

“There were already signatures on the board but the amounts they had promised didn’t look real, so I just apologised and walked on. Another one tried to flag me down closer to Sidge and a few more on the way back from my lecture, but they weren’t as persistent so we just walked past.”