Students Beware of Email Scams
We have seen a recent uptick in email scams targeting students. There have been emails sent to advertise Personal Assistant jobs or Internship possibilities. Typically these emails are not sent from a Wesleyan email address. Resumes and replies asked for in the emails are not sent to a Wesleyan email address. In most cases the grammar in the emails is poor and words are misspelled- something that should alert you to it being a fraud. The titles used or departments named are typically not a real title or department on your campus.
When students reply to the requests they are usually contacted in a very short period of time and asked for personal information ranging from their cell phone number to what bank they use or a bank account number. The fraudster will say they are forwarding a check to you that will have your first weeks pay and you will be asked to deposit it and send the balance left to the scammer. The check will bounce in your account leaving you with a fee from the bank and you will be out the money sent to the scammer. Even worse, at this point they will try to use your personal information and bank account information to take money from your account.
These scams are happening on most campuses. The scammers are preying upon students by offering jobs that sound too good to be true- because they are!
ITS posts information on these incidents on their security announcements page which can be accessed in your Wes Portal. If you receive an email like the ones described please reach out to ITS- either Vince Spiars @vspiars@wesleyan.edu or Antonio Crespo @acrespo@wesleyan.edu so the incidents can be posted on the security page for others to see. You can also contact Public Safety Lt. Paul Verrillo @pverrillo@wesleyan.edu to have the incident documented and be provided with information on how to protect yourself. These scams typically originate out of the country and are extremely difficult for law enforcement to find and hold someone accountable. That is why we need you to be vigilant, not fall victim to this scam and report it promptly. ITS has more tips on their website on what to be aware of and how to protect yourself.
Please remember, A Safe Campus is Everyone’s Responsibility
Lt. Paul Verrillo
Wesleyan University
Office of Public Safety
208 High Street
Middletown CT 06457
860-685-2818