12.2.24

New, sophisticated job scam targets University students, employees

Information Security has become aware of a new variety of fraudulent emails targeting students with convincing offers of employment—these messages are scams. The latest versions appear to come from real University of Rochester entities and staff, engaging victims with telephone “interviews” and even providing legitimate-looking University checks for victims to deposit towards office supplies and computer equipment. Examples of these messages are available here. Note that the sender and subject may change.

What you should know:

  • University officials never ask you to purchase gift cards, cash checks, or wire or Venmo money.
  • Student employment opportunities will never be processed through a text message.
  • Student employment opportunities will never require you to spend your own money or purchase your own supplies.
  • Student employment opportunities should always come from a rochester.edu email address, never external or Gmail accounts.

What you should do:

Contact information for student employment can be found here.

Learn more about protecting yourself from email and online scams.

12.9.24

Last-minute shopping and delivery scams

The holidays have a way of sneaking up on you, and so do scammers. University IT advises that if you find yourself making last-minute purchases, be a wise online shopper and only order your gifts from reputable companies. Be wary of scams like phishing emails or texts that pose as official notices from delivery companies either asking for personal information, providing bogus “tracking links,” or messages about shipment issues. When in doubt, return to your online account for your order and tracking info. Always contact the company directly with concerns and delete suspicious emails. Find more tips and reminders on the Information Security website.

12.16.24

12 scams to look for this holiday season

University IT shares the Better Business Bureau’s “Naughty List of Scams” for this holiday season. Remember, you can avoid most scams by exercising caution when it comes to links, too-good-to-be-true social media ads, and suspicious emails or texts. Avoid any website that doesn’t show a lock in its URL field, as this indicates an unsafe website.