Fraud alert: scam job postings in student email

Dear PNW community,

Campus Police and the Office of the Dean of Students recently received a report of another PNW student victimized by an email scam.

Students are being targeted with emails that falsely advertise positions at PNW or online for research assistants or internships, and often promise remote work opportunities and high salaries. The emails often use names of real PNW faculty or staff.

Once contacted, the perpetrators typically request that their targets send them money, by providing false checks and requesting a portion of the deposit be sent to them via a payment app.

Be aware of the red flags for common scams:

• Unrealistic promises, e.g. high salaries for remote work with no training or degree needed.
• Use of actual faculty or staff names but Gmail or other free mail services rather than @pnw.edu for contact information.
• Use of actual faculty or staff names but 1-800 or out-of-state phone numbers for contact information, or use of texting rather than email.
• Requests to send money using a payment app, gift card, or Western Union, often immediately after depositing a check sent to the scam victim.

Please forward any such emails to abuse@pnw.edu. Do not attempt to contact the sender. If you have contacted the sender and/or lost money as a result of a scam, please report the incident to the Office of the Dean of Students at dos@pnw.edu, or University Police at (219) 989-2220 (Hammond) or (219) 785-5220 (Westville).

Legitimate job postings for student employment with the University may be found by selecting “student employment opportunities” via the University job portal, or by contacting individual departments.

Internships and other job opportunities outside the University can be found through the PNW Career Center’s job listings resource page or by visiting Handshake.

For more information on phishing and other digital fraud, see the Information Services “Don’t Take the Bait” page.

Sincerely,

Colin D. Fewer, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs & Dean of Students