Overview
Employment scams target people looking for jobs, internships, research opportunities, or flexible work. Students are frequent targets because they may be seeking part-time, remote, or entry-level positions and may have limited experience with hiring processes.
A fake offer may impersonate a real company, UM department, faculty member, staff member, or community organization. The scammer's goal may be to steal money or personal information, gain access to an account, or recruit the student to move money or packages.
A job posting can appear on a legitimate employment site or social media platform and still be fraudulent. Some scams also use real company names, copied job descriptions, professional interviews, or documents that resemble legitimate hiring materials.
How It Works
Employment scams may begin through email, text message, social media, a messaging application, or an online job posting. Common versions include:
- Fake personal-assistant or administrative jobs. The student is asked to buy supplies, purchase gift cards, pay a vendor, or transfer money.
- Fake-check scams. The employer sends a check for equipment or expenses, then instructs the student to send part of the money elsewhere before the check is found to be fraudulent.
- Money mule or reshipping jobs. The student is asked to receive funds or packages and forward them to another person.
- Upfront-fee scams. The employer requires payment for training, equipment, software, a background check, certification, or access to the job.
- Identity theft. The recruiter collects a Social Security number, bank information, driver's license, passport, or other personal data without a legitimate hiring need.
- Task or optimization scams. The job involves simple online activity but later requires the worker to deposit personal funds or cryptocurrency to continue or withdraw supposed earnings.
The scammer may conduct little or no interview, move the conversation away from an official platform, and create urgency so the student acts before verifying the employer.
Warning Signs
Be cautious when a job opportunity:
- Arrives unexpectedly and offers immediate employment.
- Promises unusually high pay for simple work or limited experience.
- Uses a vague job description or does not explain the organization, supervisor, or work product.
- Does not include a meaningful interview or uses only text-based messaging.
- Comes from an address that does not match the employer's official domain.
- Asks you to pay for the job, training, equipment, software, or a background check.
- Sends a check and instructs you to buy equipment, pay a vendor, or return excess funds.
- Requires you to use a personal bank account, payment application, or cryptocurrency wallet for business transactions.
- Asks you to receive or reship packages.
- Requests a Social Security number, bank information, or identity document before the employer and hiring process have been verified.
- Pressures you to act immediately or keep the opportunity confidential.
- Directs you to a website that imitates a real company but uses a different address.
Legitimate employers may request personal and banking information after a formal offer as part of payroll and tax onboarding. The request should occur through a verified hiring process and an approved, secure method.
How to Protect Yourself
- Verify the employer independently. Find the organization's official website and contact its human-resources office or hiring department using information you locate yourself.
- Confirm that the position exists. Look for the job on the employer's official careers page or verify it with the department named in the offer.
- Use official contact information. Do not rely only on links, phone numbers, or email addresses supplied by the recruiter.
- Do not pay to obtain a job. Be cautious of required fees for equipment, training, certifications, applications, or background checks.
- Do not deposit an unexpected check or send money on an employer's behalf. A legitimate employer should not use a new employee's personal account as a payment channel.
- Protect personal information. Do not send a Social Security number, identity document, bank information, or account credentials until the employer and hiring process are verified.
- Do not share passwords or MFA codes. An employer does not need access to your personal or UM account.
- Search for independent information. Look for reports about the company, recruiter, email address, or job description before proceeding.
- Discuss the opportunity with someone you trust. A second review can identify inconsistencies that are difficult to notice under pressure.
What You Should Do at UM
If a job offer arrives through UM email, uses UM branding, or claims to come from a UM faculty member, staff member, department, or partner:
- Do not send money, deposit a check, buy gift cards, receive packages, or provide personal information.
- Verify the opportunity independently. Contact the named person or department through an official UM website, the UM directory, or a new message to a verified UM address.
- Use Outlook's Report Message tool and report a suspicious email as phishing. Delete the message after reporting it. The Report Message tool may remove it automatically.
- Contact the UM IT Helpdesk or UM Information Security Office if the message impersonates UM, involves a UM account, or asks you to use university systems or information.
If you interacted with the offer:
- Sent money or deposited a check: Contact your financial institution or payment provider immediately. Do not send additional money, even if the recruiter threatens consequences.
- Shared your UM password or approved an unexpected MFA request: Change your UM password through the normal account-management process and contact the UM IT Helpdesk or UM Information Security Office.
- Shared a Social Security number or identity document: Use IdentityTheft.gov to obtain a recovery plan and consider the credit-protection steps it recommends.
- Installed software or allowed remote access: Disconnect from the session and contact trusted technical support. Contact UM support when a UM device or account is involved.
- Used a job or social-media platform: Report the fraudulent posting or recruiter through the platform's official reporting process.
Preserve the job posting, messages, email headers, checks, receipts, transaction information, and any documents the recruiter provided.
Additional Questions
For a job offer involving a UM account, UM identity, UM department, or university system, contact the UM IT Helpdesk and the UM Information Security Office. You can also reach out to the UM student-employment or career-services office.
For a personal employment scam:
- Contact your bank, credit union, card issuer, or payment provider immediately if money or account information was involved.
- Report the posting or recruiter to the employment, social-media, or messaging platform where the contact occurred.
- Use IdentityTheft.gov when a Social Security number, identity document, or other identifying information may be misused.
- Report consumer fraud to the Federal Trade Commission. Internet-enabled fraud can also be reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Additional Resources