Similar to cases we saw in May and June, job scammers are impersonating real UVic professors to make their fake offers look more legitimate. The red flags remain the same as before:
- The emails are coming from Gmail addresses. A legitimate opportunity should be coming from a UVic email address.
- The sender name does not match the name of the professor supposedly offering the opportunity. Inconsistencies like this are often a sign of a scam.
- The salary offered is too good to be true, especially for a small amount of casual work to be done in your free time.
- The email requests your contact information for a different communication method, in this case Google Chat. This is a trick to move the conversation to a place that can’t be monitored by UVic.
Do not reply to these offers–these scammers are usually trying to defraud you of money in one way or another. They may ask you to transfer money using your own funds (with a promise to reimburse you that will never materialize) or ask you to buy gift cards and send photographs of them. If they ask for personal information such as your driver’s licence or passport, do not provide it or you may be at risk of identity theft.
If you responded to the scammer, contact the Computer Help Desk for assistance, especially if you sent money or personal information. If you forwarded the email to other people, recall the message and warn the recipients as soon as possible.
From: Franka Arden <farden***@gmail.com>
Subject: Work Part-TimeThe service of a Department Assistant is urgently required to work part-time 12hours/week and get paid $650 weekly. Tasks will be carried out remotely in your free days/time.
If interested, submit a copy of your updated resume and a functional google chat email address to our Department of Economics via this email address to proceed.Sincerely
Dr. [redacted]
Associate Professor
Department of Economics
Office: BEC ***