I t wasn’t Harry Edwards, a sports sociologist at the University of California at Berkeley, who called dozens of colleagues across the country and asked them to lend, say, $300 to his stranded nephew. It was a con man who knew enough about Mr. Edwards’s scholarly pursuits to assume his identity on the phone. He would call an academic, talk about his work, and then report that his nephew, “Kevin Edwards,” had flown into town for a job interview — and had lost his luggage, including his wallet. Could the local professor help the young man out with a loan for a hotel and a new suit? In return, “Dr. Edwards” would reimburse the professor and lecture on his campus. The scam succeeded on at least 78 campuses and netted more than $200,000, said the real Mr. Edwards, who kept track as victims contacted him: “The damn thing would be comical if it weren’t so tragic.”
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