Author: Arshdeep

This phish is to steal user’s banking (credit/debit card) information. The phisher is giving a bait of $2500 to lure users into giving their banking details. As always, this email has following phishing signs:

1. Subject of the email is to attract users to open the email and read further.
2. This email impersonates Green dot bank as it claims to come from this company but the sender email address is different and no signer name at the bottom.
3. Link given does not go to Greendot domain (always check links by hovering over it).
4. The email mentions American Opportunity Tax Credit for which the jurisdiction is US and not applicable in Canada.

Never overlook the warning signs in such emails as even the minor details can lead to detection of scams. Always beware of giving out any personal or confidential information.

Subject: $2,500 Credit Fund
From: Bayu Kurniawan <[redacted sender address]>

We are pleased to inform you that the school management and its community in collaboration with @GreenDot, after the recent annual calculation of your educational expenses, you have been determined eligible to receive an education credit from the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) in the amount of $2,500.

To ensure you receive your education credits, it is important that you fill the bank details for proper verification before remittance into your bank account details.

Connect your account[link to phish] to verify identity and submit your direct deposit details.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Green Dot,
P.O. Box 1070,
West Chester, OH 45071

This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. PT. Indonesia Comnets Plus ( ICON+) is neither liable for the proper and complete transmition of the information contained in this communication nor for any delay and its receipt.

 

Job scam impersonating UVic professor to make the job employment look legit. There are other similar emails circulating with different subject and different senders. We have been continuously seeing these types of scams this summer. Please pay attention to the phishing signs before taking action on such emails. Here are some easy to spot phish signs:

• External email address, which wouldn’t be the case if it was coming from UVic office.
• Sender name doesn’t match with the name of the professor impersonated.
• Salary offered is too good to be true.

Never reply to such scams and take a moment to look for warning signs. Most of these scams are to defraud you of money.

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.

Subject: Job Opening
From: Stanford Psychology.edu <doug****@gmail.com>

Notice: This message was sent from outside the University of Victoria email system. Please be cautious with links and sensitive information.

University of Victoria ,Department of Psychology requires the services of Undergraduate students to assist with research projects on campus. The successful candidates will work closely with our research team to support ongoing data collection, and analysis . They are to work remotely and get paid $400 weekly.

Responsibilities:

Assist with the design and implementation of research projects on campus
Conduct literature reviews and summarize key findings
Collect and analyze data using appropriate statistical methods
Prepare and present findings to the research team
Perform administrative duties such as scheduling, data entry, and record keeping
Assist with writing research reports and manuscripts for publication
Recruit participants and conduct research studies
Qualifications:

Excellent organizational and time management skills
Strong attention to detail
Experience with research methods and statistical analysis
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Availability to work on campus or remotely during weekdays and weekends
Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
This is a part-time position with a flexible schedule, and the successful candidate will work approximately 7 hours per week. The position offers valuable research experience, and the opportunity to work with a dynamic and collaborative research team on campus.

To proceed with the application process and other eligibility descriptions, submit your resume for review and approval for the position.

 

C/O

[redacted professor name]
—
Professor
Psychology
—
Contact
Office: COR [redacted]

 

A job scam phish trying to lure users with a lucrative pay offer. There is not much mentioned in the email body itself rather asks for users to open the pdf attachment for details. There is no reason for anyone to open the attachment as it has clear signs of phishing. Email body doesn’t give any information of why someone is sending you this email and subject just states the salary to attract users which is uncommon for legit job emails.

Before opening any attachments, look for phishing signs as those could be infected files. If you have fallen for this scam please contact helpdesk or your IT support contact.

Subject: $500 Weekly Pay
From: Tito Tatag Prakoso <[redacted sender address]>

Attachment: $500 Weekly Pay.pdf

View attached for Temp Job details.

This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. PT. Indonesia Comnets Plus ( ICON+) is neither liable for the proper and complete transmition of the information contained in this communication nor for any delay and its receipt.

Please be aware of this job scam which tries to lure users with too good to be true offer. Although, it is well written but one can still spot the phishing signs, sender name and signature name doesn’t match. The email mentions about a college website where ours is a University, clearly this email was used to target some other institute and have been reused for our environment. The pay offered is way too high for the job described.

Here is a BBB article which describes such job scams in more detail:

https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/24708-scam-alert-pet-sitting-job-is-too-good-to-be-true

Never be in a hurry to give your personal information for job offers, always look for warning signs. Whenever in doubt contact helpdesk.

 

Subject: A Little Request
From: Ashlie Roberts [redacted external sender address]

Notice: This message was sent from outside the University of Victoria email system. Please be cautious with links and sensitive information.

Hello,

I hope this message finds you well. As a former staff member of the college, I recently came across your email on the College website. I wanted to reach out to you regarding an exciting opportunity. My uncle will be relocating to the college area this summer, and he is in need of someone who can provide care and attention to his beloved pets.

Specifically, he is looking for someone who can take care of his furry companions by sitting with them, taking them for walks, and ensuring they are fed properly. To make this arrangement mutually beneficial, he is offering a competitive weekly payment of $400.

If you happen to know any staff or students who might be interested in dog-sitting, I kindly request you to refer them to my uncle. They can simply send an email to [external outlook email for contact], providing their name, phone number, and email address. This will allow my uncle to get in touch with them and discuss the full terms and requirements of the job.

Thank you for your time and assistance. Your referral could potentially help my uncle find a reliable and caring individual to take care of his fur babies. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions or need additional information.

Best regards.

Christopher Rosenfelt

 

This job scam phish has been circulating today, which spoofs another Canadian institute email. Here is how you can spot this scam:

1. Subject doesn’t match the content of the emails.
2. Sender name and Signature name are different.
3. Too good to be true offer, paying way too high a wage for surveys.
4. External gmail address is provided for contact, which neither belongs to the sender institute nor the company mentioned in this email.
5. Alternate email and phone number are asked, this tactic is used by scammers to evade detection from UVic network protections in-place.
6. Spelling and grammatical mistakes.

Please be aware of such scams, always take a moment to look for red flags. In case, you have already fallen for this scam, please immediately stop any further conversation with the scammer and report it to helpdesk or your departmental  IT support.

Subject: Dear UVIC.
From: [redacted sender address]

Notice: This message was sent from outside the University of Victoria email system. Please be cautious with links and sensitive information.

Dear University of Victoria Students/Staffs/Non-Staffs,

I am introducing you to a part time opportunity, you can show interest and apply after reading.

Opinion Outpost, A leading agency specialized in Global Customer Service Research, is expanding customer service research projects in Canada. This project takes place every week, they need to recruit Shop Elevators to do surveys on Local retail stores in your environment. Applications are welcomed from qualified individuals (18+) to become Store Evaluators. You will get paid $400 – $500 on each assignment/evaluation

JOB DESCRIPTION:
* You will be assigned to visit a Retail store.

* You will be sent funds and instructed to purchase a few items from the store. You will then finish an on-line questionnaire to share with us your customer experience.

* Most of the time you will only need to spend 20 minutes on the visit.

To register for this survey, you are required to fill out the form below and send it to: [scammer’s gmail address]

Full Name:
Address:
Alternative Email Address:
Cell Phone Number:

Thank you for the participation, you will be contacted as soon as your application has been received.

Regards,

Basil Mervyn.
Recruitment and Job Evaluation Advisor.
Opinion Outpost.

This phish has no hidden agenda, plain and simple job scam. The phisher has clearly put no effort, whatsoever, into making it look legit.

There is no mention of who this person is and what organization they work for, not even their last name. Salutation is generic and formatting of the text is weird along with grammatical errors.

Please don’t reply to such job scams and be aware of the phishing signs.

Subject:Job Offer
From: [external sender]@gmail.com

Notice: This message was sent from outside the University of Victoria email system. Please be cautious with links and sensitive information.

Dear Job seeker,
My name is Alec . I have an urgent need to replace my representative across Canada. I am looking for a friendly, simple & trustworthy individual . Someone with a good sense of humor that can take the company to the next level.
Do get back if you are available to work so I can give you details of the job required as this will not disturb your other work .

Sincerely
Alec

This is a typical job scam that we have been seeing since past month impersonating a faculty member. Following are the red flags:

1. External sender address as opposed to UVic address.
2. Sender’s name doesn’t match the faculty member impersonated.
3. The salary offered is too good to be true.
4. Contact number is given by the scammer with intent to move the conversation away from UVic email to avoid UVic’s monitoring.

Please do not reply or contact the scammer. If you have replied please contact helpdesk or your DSS.

Always look for warning signs before taking the action mentioned in emails. When in doubt contact helpdesk.

Subject: Student Research Position

From: INFORMATION SUPPORT SERVICE <sack****99@gmail.com>

Notice: This message was sent from outside the University of Victoria email system. Please be cautious with links and sensitive information

University of Victoria, The Department of Psychology urgently requires the service of student research assistants, whose engagement will contribute to our interconnected goals of excellence, diversity, equity, and inclusion. They are to work remotely and get paid $350 weekly.
The research position applications are open to students from any academic department, and tasks can be carried out remotely. It gives excellent opportunities for students to study and earn money, including assigned research work, mentorship, travel funding, and program-based professional development opportunities related to scholarship and teaching to prepare them for possible tenure-track appointments in the Institution. All this could be achieved without affecting academic performance or leisure time.
To proceed with the application process and other eligibility descriptions, submit a copy of your resume via email or text me on (424) ***-**** to receive the job description and further application requirements.

Best regards,

[impersonated professor]

–

Associate Professor

Psychology

–

Office: [Office location]

–

[Professor’s joining information]

–

Clinical Psychology

 

Today we have seen another batch of job scams similar to previously seen job scams this week. This one also uses the name of a real professor from the UVic Department of Computer Science to make the offer seem legitimate. To spot the red flags, please check out these previous posts:

May 16: Part-time Job Opening

May 12: Organizational Research Assistant – University of Victoria

May 8: “Student Research Assistant Urgently Needed” or “Office of Research Assistants” job scam emails

Here’s the screenshot of today’s job scam:

Another job scam impersonating a UVic faculty member to make the job offer look legitimate. Following are the red flags:

1. The sender address name doesn’t match with the Faculty name given in the signature.
2. The email address is a gmail address not a UVic address.
3. The email asks you to contact via text message, which is a tactic to avoid UVic detection.
4. The offer is too good to be true, offering to pay much higher pay for less work.

Please do not reply or contact the scammer. If you have replied please contact helpdesk or your DSS.

Always look for phishing signs before taking the action mentioned in emails. When in doubt contact helpdesk.

This high volume phish applies the tactic of curiosity. It impersonates regular sharing of files done using OneDrive. But looking at the sender address reveals it is not coming from a Microsoft domain and the sender name is also fake.

The phisher has sent this phish without any context and  in the hope that a curious mind would click the link and fell for it. Hence, never be in a hurry to click the links in the email and take a moment to consider if you were expecting a sharing of file. If such emails are sent from someone you know, always confirm with them. Whenever in doubt, consult helpdesk.

This phish was observed today by many at UVic. There is no context mentioned, whatsoever, about the attached docx file. This phish is merely to attract the curious to open the attachment.

Never open/download any attachments given in suspicious emails. Even though the file may seem benign but attachments in phish are infected with viruses and other malware, which will get executed as soon as you click on the file.

 

Please be aware of this phish as it impersonates a UVic faculty member to make the job offer believable. The sender’s email address is not a UVic email and the sender’s name is made to look legit “Office of Human Resources” but it is fake. The scammer is asking for a gmail address, which is a red flag, to evade UVic detection. This phish also has a usual tactic of too good to be true offer.

One can confirm such emails by contacting the person or department or organization from a known contact information (like in this case, from UVic website). Never use contact information given in the email to confirm the legitimacy of that email. Never be in a hurry to respond, take your time to look for phishing signs and if in doubt consult with helpdesk.

Recently, there has been an increase in job scam phishes. This one also impersonates a professor at UVic to make the job seem legit. This phish is similar to the one encountered earlier this month. To spot the phishing signs checkout the post below:

Student Research Assistant Urgently Needed

This job scam is similar to what we have seen back in Feb 2023 just with different subject and sender. To know about the phishing signs, check the post below:

UNICEF is recruiting students

Screenshot of the latest phish:

Seems to be job scam season, this is the fourth job scam phish seen this week. Tactics are same as other job scams trying to lure people with too good to be true offers. The sender email and the email to contact are different, moreover this email pretends to be coming from WHO but the sender email address is clearly not from this organization. The email given, to contact, is clearly made to seem that it belongs to WHO but it is a fake domain. The phisher is asking to contact using personal email address, this a major red flag, as it is to evade UVic detection.

Please don’t be in a hurry to respond or click on attachments. Always look for red flags and when in doubt contact helpdesk.