Job Scams Continue To Target UMBC Community
Scammers Don’t Take Time Off For The Holidays
How It Works
Not all job scams are identical, but those we have seen follow the general pattern described here.
You may see scams arrive as text messages, email, or in almost any other form possible. The messages are all similar. You are told that the sender has some association with your school and that you have been selected to apply for a work-from-home position. You are asked to contact the sender and/or go to a website to provide personal information, including name, address, phone number, email address, and possibly Social Security Number. Some scammers go to considerable effort to appear legitimate. They may have set up a website. They may even use the names of real people from real companies. One very through scam earlier this year took names and photos from the website of a real company and used it to set up their own website.
Once you have accepted the position, you will be provided with either a check or a picture of a check to print out and be directed to deposit it into your checking account. At the same time, for whatever reason, you will be told to transfer some of your own money (check, wire transfer, etc.) to someone else. For instance, if the check you get is for $1000.00, you may be told to deposit it and immediately send $700.00 to someone else, keeping the remaining $300.00 as your payment for the work. The check for $1000.00 turns out to be a fake and is rejected by your bank. You have just lost$700.00. The scammer you have been working for will stop responding. Any contact information you have will no longer be valid.
Some Examples
E-mail message
From: Kaitlyn pederio <kaitlynpe541@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 3:02 PM Subject: CORNERSTONE STUDENT PART TIME JOB OFFER To: Dear student, We got your contact through your school database and I'm happy to inform you that our reputable company Cornerstone® is currently running a student empowerment program. This program is completely school oriented as it has been designed not to deter you from all school activities which is priority for you and this organisation. This program is to help loyal and hardworking students like you secure a part time job with an attractive weekly salary. TO PROCEED WITH THIS JOB OFFER, KINDLY REPLY TO THIS MAIL WITH YOUR ALTERNATE E-MAIL ADDRESS IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE FULL JOB DESCRIPTION. Best Regards,
Kaitlyn pederio, HR Recruit Manager/Consultant Cornerstone® Staffing-Solution, |
What to do
If you do receive anything like the offers above, even if you are not sure, , please DO NOT respond any further or click on any URLs. If you have provided any banking or financial information, please notify your bank or financial institution immediately. If you have been sent a check, you should not attempt to cash or deposit it. If you have deposited a check already, please contact your bank and tell them that it may be part of a scam.
Whether or not you responded to the scam or not, please forward the message (with the email headers - see link below) to security@umbc.edu. We will also keep track of any other information you submit about the scammers, such as their phone numbers if you receive a text message from the scammer.
How do I forward full email headers?
https://wiki.umbc.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1867970
To read more articles published by DoIT Security please visit:
https://itsecurity.umbc.edu/critical/?tag=notice.
https://itsecurity.umbc.edu/home/covid-19-news/?tag=covid19
Posted: November 25, 2020, 7:12 PM