Too Good to Be True: UAlbany Club Groups Grapple with GroupMe Scams

By Livia Chouraqui | November 10, 2026

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Free camera equipment or a discounted concert ticket sounds appealing to college students. However, for University at Albany students using GroupMe, these offers have become a continuing annoyance as bot accounts sneak into campus organization group chats.

GroupMe, a messaging platform often used by university clubs and organizations, allows students to discuss meetings and events. Many groups allow anyone to join through invitation links, which allow scammers to enter chats intended for students.

Damean Teagle, a sophomore and member of UAlbany's Debate Club, said he encounters these scam messages on a regular basis.

"Oh yeah, on the daily I'll get messages from, like, Debate Club," Teagle said. "It's like ‘selling my tickets to an Olivia Rodrigo concert’, and ‘here's a free laptop or camera gear.'" 

Alana Borrero, a sophomore and secretary of UAlbany's College Democrats, reported similar experiences, describing messages that offer free laptops and concert tickets in the organization's GroupMe.

While these messages may be recognizable to students who have dealt with scams on the app for years, first-year students unfamiliar with GroupMe could be vulnerable.

Taneisha Ortiz Rodriguez, a first-year student at UAlbany, said her inexperience with the platform makes identifying bot messages difficult.

"I'm much more susceptible because since it's my first time using GroupMe, like I don't expect there to be actual scams in those kind of group chats," Ortiz Rodriguez said.

Teagle agreed and explained that scammers often use ordinary names that allow them to appear as real members of student organizations. He also emphasized the need for greater awareness of these occurrences.

"I think there does need to be some sort of like info thing that goes out to people who use GroupMe that these scams are very prevalent," Teagle said.

A common scam GroupMe message received by a UAlbany student on Oct. 6 shows how suspicious accounts engage in conversations with students. Messages like these often come before offers involving money, concert tickets, or free equipment. Photo Credit: Livia Chouraqui

To provide administration insight on the issue, Jim Bole, UAlbany's chief information security officer, said that while Information Technology Services (ITS) has not received reports of specific GroupMe scams, students should be cautious of suspicious messages across all social media platforms. 

"ITS has not heard of any specific GroupMe scams," Bole said in an emailed statement. "In general, it's not really the platform (GroupMe, Instagram, Discord, Yikyak, etc.), it's more about the message or transaction that students should be vigilant around."

Bole advised students to be cautious of monetary offers, verify unfamiliar users' identities, and avoid sharing personal or financial information.

Some campus organizations have already taken steps to prevent bot accounts from entering their group chats. 

Borrero said the College Democrats switched to an invitation-only system that requires verification before being approved.

"So what we decided to do is invitation only," Borrero said. "We use GroupMe and we ask them to put their UAlbany email in so we can accept and approve them into the GroupMe."

Borrero said the organization has not experienced scams after implementing the system.

Although restricting group membership may help the issue, Bole emphasized that students should be careful even when messages appear to come from verified accounts.

"A UAlbany name, logo, class group, or familiar profile picture doesn't prove who is really behind an account," Bole said. "Pause. Verify. Then act."