The UCF Information Security Office (InfoSec) continues to receive reports of scam and phishing emails targeting students. The most recently reported scam involves a message offering a paid part-time personal assistant position with possible money upfront: don’t be fooled by this tactic.
How does the scam work?
Once the victim responds, the scammer will send a check and ask that a portion of the funds be wired back. Sending money via a payment app or wire transfer is almost instantaneous, but it may take several days for the bank to process the check. By the time the bank notifies the victim that the check is fraudulent, the victim’s money and the scammer are gone.
How can I avoid becoming a victim?
Remember, an unsolicited offer of employment may be a scam if it:
- asks you to provide copies of your government ID (driver’s license, passport, etc.), especially if you did not apply for a job;
- offers to send you a check and requests that you wire back a portion of the funds;
- offers large income for minimal work.
How can I protect my account and my fellow Knights?
Scammers prefer sending these scam and phishing messages from other student accounts to make them appear more legitimate. To prevent your account from being compromised and used to scam your fellow Knights, enable Multi-Factor Authentication on your Knights email. Learn more about MFA here: https://infosec.ucf.edu/mfa .
How can I report these phishing emails?
If you receive such an email, report it to the Security Incident Response Team by forwarding it as an attachment to SIRT@ucf.edu .
To learn more, please see https://infosec.ucf.edu/scam . Please inform your friends and family to help protect themselves against cyber threats and predatory scam artists.
Thank you,
UCF Information Security Office
infosec@ucf.edu
https://infosec.ucf.edu