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Scams In Our Community 

VCU Information Security Office has seen a drastic increase in job scams targeting the student population. The scammers behind these emails will pretend to be VCU professors and contact students with unsolicited job offers or research opportunities. The scammers will promise the victims steady weekly pay and will sometimes even ask the victims to analyze some data before proceeding with the scam. Typically, the scammers will eventually ask students to do one of two things:

1. The scammer will attempt to have the students buy gift cards and send photos of the cards along with the card numbers and receipts back to the scammer. 
2. The scammer will attempt to send the student a check and have the student deposit it and take a specific portion out to reimburse another "vendor."

Please Be Aware of Unsolicited Job Offers

No reputable organization or individual will offer you a job without you applying for it first or having a formal Interview. Here are some tips to help recognize and report these scams. Be wary of unsolicited job offers. Be cautious if you receive an email or message from someone you don’t know offering you a job. Scammers often use fake job postings to lure in unsuspecting victims.

1. 1. Do your research. Before accepting any job offer, research the company and the person who contacted you. Check their website and social media profiles to make sure they are legitimate. Take a look at the individual's email address and correspondence; if the individual is coordinating with you using personal email services, this may be a sign of a scam.
      
      
   2. Never give out personal information. Scammers may ask for your Social Security number or other personal information as part of a “background check.” Never give out this information unless you know the job offer is legitimate.
      
      
   3. Be suspicious of unusual payment methods. Scammers may ask you to buy gift cards or deposit fraudulent checks as part of your job duties. Legitimate employers will never ask you to do this.
      
      
   4. Report suspicious activity. If you suspect a job offer is a scam, report it to the VCU Information Security Office at infosec@vcu.edu or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC; https://reportfraud.ftc.gov). You can also file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3; https://www.ic3.gov). If you have been a victim of such a scam, please consider reporting it to the VCU Police Department at 804-828-1196.