A University of Wisconsin student was the victim of a recent fraud involving suspicious contact from the suspect, who threatened the victim with police involvement.

According to a Madison Police Department report, the victim was a 22-year-old female student in the UW School of Business.

The incident was reported Oct. 6., even though the fraud had been going on since mid-September, the statement said.

The victim began to receive emails and text messages from the suspect, “James Noonan,” who claimed to work for “ADC Solutions, Inc,” the statement said. It said the suspect wanted to hire the victim as a “store evaluator.”

According to the statement, “Noonan” allegedly sent the victim a check for $2,550.45 with the instructions to deposit it, spend $500 at various stores and review her experience at each store. The victim was also instructed to send the balance to a suspicious location in Dublin, Ireland, it said.

When the victim inquired about the company at the Business School’s office, the office was confident none of the companies it associated with performed these types of services, the statement said.

The statement said when the victim refused to participate, the suspect continued to contact her and claimed he was reporting her to the police. She then contacted the authorities herself, according to the statement.

The victim thought the suspect may have obtained her contact information through the UW School of Business’s Business Career Center, where she has it available for potential future employers to view, the statement said.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, urged students to be cautious of suspicious offers, especially when they involve money.

“Whenever there is any money being transacted, always be confident to know who you are receiving the money from and be very diligent to know that there are very intricate scams out there of this sort,” Resnick said.

Resnick said even though students should be aware of potentially dangerous situations, he said most services provided through the UW are legitimate, whether they are through the business center or job board.

He added although fraud crimes are not a common occurrence on campus, employment scams can happen anywhere.

“Criminals will find ways to take advantage of students any way possible,” Resnick said.