Information Technology Services was recently notified of an email scam that impacted some in the Husker community during the holiday season.
The incident involves scammers sending email from what looks like individual campus email accounts to apply for a fake job opportunity. It asks people to deposit a check and send purchased gift cards back in return.
This scam, which is similar to an email phishing attempt that surfaced in September and October, is especially common during the holidays. In these cases, checks are often fraudulent and leave those impacted owing large sums of money.
Campus email users should always be skeptical of these types of offers. Watch for grammatical errors, and ask yourself if this type of email is something you would normally receive by the person who sent it.
Other safety tips include:
If emails are received of this nature, do not respond to them.
If you receive an email asking you to review a document or click on a link, check with the sender of the email first, preferably via phone to make sure it is a valid request.
In the future, if you receive an email asking you to review a document or click on a link, check with the sender of the email first, preferably via the phone, to make sure it is a valid email/request.
Report any suspicious emails to the NU Cybersecurity office at its-sec@nebraska.edu or phishing@nebraska.edu.
Verify who sent an email by hovering your mouse over the sender’s name.
