Don’t get tricked: Students are being targeted in a job scam email.

Students have reported, “scam emails” sent to their VCU email accounts offering appealing work for students in exchange for personal financial information.

Dan Han, VCU’s chief information security officer, said scammers typically give a job offer to a student and then attempt to trick them into depositing fraudulent checks into their bank accounts.

“While the students may see an initial increase in funding, once the money is wired or spent, the check will bounce, thus leaving the student with lost money and possible implications from financial fraud,” Han said.

The emails from scammers are feigned to look legitimate and are not associated with the purpose of the email’s proposal. Han said no legitimate employer would provide a job offer via email without undergoing a formal application and interview process.

“If something sounds too good to be true, then it is likely a scam,” Han said.

Han said students targeted by scammers are chosen at random, with no apparent pattern. They may be targeting enough students to trick a percentage of them, without drawing attention.

After discovering the scam, VCU blocked the scammer’s email addresses and service providers and sent alerts to warn students.

“Thanks to a number of diligent students who recognized and reported the scam to the VCU IT Support Center and Information Security Office, we were able to catch this round of scams early, stop the scammer in their tracks, and warn students who may have responded to the scammer and/or received the scam,” Han said.

VCU is urging students to report any potential cyber threats or scams to the IT Support Center by calling them at (804)-828-2227 or by sending an email to itsc@vcu.edu.

Logan Reardon, Contributing Writer