Thursday afternoon, the Department of Academic and Student Affairs sent a message to first-year students warning them about the existence of a Facebook group posing as an officially sanctioned NC State class of 2021 group.

“The group poses as an official group administered by members of the university community,” the statement says. “Please be aware that this is not the case.”

According to DASA, similar groups for other universities’ classes of 2021 have been created.

“It appears they [the unofficial Facebook groups] are being used to gather personal information from group members,” the statement says.

The statement from DASA says that there is no indication that the information is being used with ill will, but it warns first-year students against sharing personally identifying information, including phone numbers and residence hall assignments, on social media platforms.