Published August 26, 2024
With increasing opportunities to hand out our personal information, the number of online scams are skyrocketing. Here's a look at the most common scams affecting UB and the steps you can take to avoid them.
Scams happen when we provide scammers the chance to access our information.
Scammers are also compelled, first and foremost, by financial gain.
Why are students overwhelmingly the target of some of these scams? In particular, students comprise 95% of all targets for fake job offers, because students are more likely looking for flexible or remote work opportunities (which conveniently means you'll never meet the person scamming you in person). Students may also be in greater need of a job.
International students are disproporionately targeted as well, because scammers assume international students will be less likely to detect a fraudulent email than those who speak English as a first language.
Phishing is the most common ways scammers gain access to your personal information by trying to establish a relationship or gain your trust. Phishing attempts don't just target email, either. Scammers may use:
In particular, look out for:
Despite the typical spelling and grammar errors, scam emails can look surprisingly legit. Scammers often impersonate large, reputable organizations (even UB!) by taking their logos and branding from another online source to make their scam emails look more official.
Follow the instructions on the UBIT website for reporting a phishing attempt if you think you have received one.
Fake job scams
Someone contacts you with a “too good to be true” job opportunity: common offers include caregivers, mystery shoppers, administrative assistants, rebate processors or models/influencers. These jobs, while often entry-level, claim to offer great pay, short working hours and lots of flexibility.
Some variations of this scam offer to find you a job placement, or to get you to buy gift cards, bitcoin or other purchases, but these scams use several different tactics.
Fake job scams can appear as though they come from a company, or an individual (for example, you may receive an email asking you for recommendations for a tutor).
Look out for:
Ways to stay safe:
Supervisor/"gift card" scams
You receive an email from someone who claims to be a UB official, or maybe even your supervisor… but isn’t. They need something done quickly, but can’t talk over the phone. Typically, they’ll ask you to buy gift cards for them.
Look out for:
Ways to stay safe:
Immigration scams
International students are often the target of this scam, in which someone calls you and threatens deportation unless you give them money immediately. This scam is quite common, and there are easy ways to detect it:
Look out for:
Ways to stay safe:
Cryptocurrency investment scams
This scam, spotted by the FBI in 2022, targets mainly Chinese American professors. According to the FBI:
"Criminals contact Chinese American professors, claim to be associated with legitimate investment firms, with branches in Asia, and solicit investments in cryptocurrency. The scammers communicate in both Mandarin and English while using email and instant messaging applications. If the scammers are successful in obtaining wire transfers, they direct their victims to fraudulent financial platforms that display fake account balances, and funds which are not available for withdrawal."
Look out for:
Ways to stay safe:
Tax scams
In 2021, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) warned that scammers were targeting .edu email addresses with a tax scam where they impersonate the IRS and ask people to click a link and submit a form to claim their refund. These scams use the IRS logo in their email, and various subject lines like "Tax Refund Payment" or "Recalculation of your tax refund payment."
The link in the email leads to a fake IRS site that collects your social security number, date of birth and other information that can be used to fradulently steal your refund.
During tax season, if you're waiting on or unsure of the status of your refund, you should check the IRS' official Where's My Refund? page on IRS.gov.
Invoice scams
You’ve received an invoice from a reputable company, but something seems off. Trust your gut, and make sure it is real. Scammers have taken to sending out fake invoices so consumers either pay the invoice directly, or call the scammer, and give them access to their computer and banking information. And don’t call the number on the invoice to check things out. Make sure you’re calling the real company.
Google Docs/M365 phishing scams
This scheme tricks individuals into granting access to their Google or Microsoft accounts by sending emails that appear to be from trusted sources, often indicating that the sender has shared a document with them and directing them to a what appears to be a Google or Microsoft sign-in page.
In some cases, it may actually be a legitimate sign-in page. Using what is called an adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) attack, the threat actor can insert themselves in such a way that when someone clicks the link and logs into the legitimate sign-in page, they are able to capture their credentials and their multi-factor authentication code (2FA code).
The attacker can also use a fake Google or Microsoft log-in page that looks just like the real thing to capture credentials.
Once the credentials are entered, cybercriminals can access personal information, send spam, and potentially commit identity theft. Recognizing the signs of this scam, such as unexpected emails, generic greetings, urgency tactics, and suspicious URLs, is crucial to protecting your online security.
To safeguard yourself, enable two-factor authentication, verify the sender's identity, and hover over links to preview URLs before clicking. Make sure to report any incidents to UBIT, which you can do online. If you've fallen victim to the scam, immediately change your passwords, review account activity, and monitor your financial accounts for suspicious behavior.
If you think you have been the victim of a scam, there are several steps you should take: