Scammers are using compromised Marquette University accounts to send job scam emails designed to trick students into applying for a job that requires them to provide personal information and potentially engage in criminal activity.
Recently several emails with the subjects “Job Offer” or “New Job” were sent to all campus email addresses from compromised student accounts. These messages are just an example of what a scammer might send; the Marquette community is encouraged to watch for future similar scam emails.
As always, the Marquette community is reminded to be suspicious of messages that seem too good to be true–they probably are. Below are some tips for easily detecting email scams.
If an email seems suspicious, do not click on any links in the message.
You can report the email directly in Outlook. At the top right of the window, click “Report Message,” and select the drop-down “Phishing” option.
If you responded to an email regarding a job opportunity and you now suspect it to be a scam, do the following immediately:
- Notify ITS Information Security at security@marquette.edu. You may be asked to forward any email or text message correspondence you have had with the scammer.
- To secure your Marquette University account, reset your password immediately.
- If you are the victim of a scam, file a report with:
- The Marquette University Police Department by calling the non-emergency line: (414) 288-6800
- Your bank or credit card company, if you provided financial information
- The Federal Trade Commission
With questions, contact the IT Services Help Desk at (414) 288-7799 or security@marquette.edu.
How to easily identify a job scam email:
- If the email is from a Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook address.
Legitimate companies should email from their corporate email account. - If you are not the only recipient on the email.
Legitimate companies will not send an email about a job offer to multiple people at once. - If the email does not address you by name.
The email may say your information was obtained from a job board, school database or career services office. If that were true, they should have addressed the email to you directly, rather than generic phrases like “Hello Student” or “Good Morning.” - If they ask to continue the conversation by text.
Do not text the individual; this makes the scam harder to document. Conversations about legitimate offers should be conducted via email. - If they ask for personal information in an email.
Legitimate job opportunities require you to apply and provide your personal information through an official application (usually on the company website through a secure portal). - If the email contains grammatical or spelling errors.
A very common attribute of scam emails is that they do not bother to spell check or grammar check their outgoing emails. - If there is no contact information for the sender.
Any legitimate email from a company’s Human Resources or Recruiting department should have a signature line with the sender’s name, title and contact information. - If the email asks you to visit a non-Marquette website.
Marquette University will only ask you to visit the website for one of our official career centers on campus or a verified university partner such as Handshake. If the scammer is asking you to visit a non-Marquette website that is unfamiliar to your or seems sketchy, it probably is. - Lastly, please note that some scammers will intentionally use the name of a legitimate company to make the scam more believable.
If you receive an email that contains this type of information, delete it. There is no need to respond. If you ever have questions about whether or not an email is legitimate, forward it to security@marquette.edu.