Campus police at the University of Southern Maine are warning female students to be cautious after police received a report Saturday morning of a man who repeatedly tried get a student to come over to his car to look at a photograph on his cellphone.

The incident took place around 10 a.m. in the area of Bailey Hall on the Gorham campus of USM, according to a notice posted Saturday on the Department of Public Safety’s Facebook page by Interim Police Chief Ronald G. Saindon.

Police said the student was walking in the area of Bailey Hall when a late-model silver or gray Ford – possibly a Ford Focus – pulled up near her. The vehicle’s license plates were covered with dirt and unreadable.

The man inside the car called to her and told her that he had a picture on his cellphone that he wanted her to see. He tried several times to coax her into coming over to his car without success. When she went into Bailey Hall the driver left the area.

The man is described as light-skinned, in his late 20s to mid-30s, with a dark brown or red beard. He was wearing sunglasses and described as being athletic in appearance. Anyone with information concerning the man is being asked to contact the USM Public Safety Office at 780-5211.

Police are urging students to find a friend to walk with them after dark, to go to a populated place if they suspect they are being followed, and to call USM’s escort service if they feel unsafe.