Cyberscam Alert: job offer scams targeting students
The Office of Information Security (OIS) warns about on-going job opportunity email scams targeting students.
About the scam
Unsolicited job opportunities are sent by scammers posing as legitimate recruiters. These email offers often have an attractive starting salary, don’t require an in-person interview and may ask for personal (non-university) contact info.
This email is the first interaction that ultimately leads to a gift card purchase, request to deposit a check, or other financial task once trust is gained.
Recognizing the scam
If an employment arrangement or offer seems “too good to be true,” it probably is! There are many legitimate opportunities through online recruiting sites, including those posted in Handshake. But companies who contact you directly might be scammers posing as employers.
Recent subjects of emails
- Job Remote Placement
- Remote Job Placement
- HR and Employment Relations Information Session
- Campus Employment Program
- Remote Administrative Assistant Position
- Administrative Support Assistant Needed
What to do if you’ve received this type of scam
- See and follow “Avoiding Job Scams” tips from the Career Center.
- Don’t be pressured into accepting a job that makes you suspicious or uncomfortable. Stop all communications if you aren’t sure about the legitimacy of the job or the company.
- Use good judgement when evaluating and interacting with all potential employers.
- Ask questions. Evaluate the email carefully and do an Internet search of the company. Review it for common phishing indicators, including misspellings, grammatical errors, inconsistencies, or an email address that doesn’t match the name of the organization.
- Confirm the sender. Look up their info on the corporate website and contact them directly through the site (not the email).
- Contact the TU Career Center to confirm if the posting is legit.
- Report suspicious email to phishing@towson.edu.
- Stay up to date. Check out the Phish Tank for recent phishing attacks on the university.
Categorised in: Students
This post was written by Weldon, Jennifer