Part time job email scam

Emails offering part-time work are always scam emails designed to extort money from you.

How can you tell? 

• The reply-to address shown, and if one is given in the email, never end with "virginia.edu" 
• Usually, they offer you a job, then send you a "certified check" or electronic payment.
• Then they ask you to "send" some of the money back.
• You quickly find the original payment check bounces or is otherwise no good, and you are out the money you sent.
• If you receive ANY unsolicited email offering a part-time job, personal assistant position, TA slot or any other employment, DO NOT RESPOND.

• Jobs do not pay you ahead of time for hours not yet performed.

• Legitimate jobs do not hire you via email, without an interview, and without some kind of vetting process.

• Legitimate internal job postings are posted in Workday or Handshake (for students).

• Legitimate UVA jobs will compensate you via direct deposit, not via a check.

• If you want to follow-up, then use the safe email practice you already know: contact the person or department using information not in the email.
  • Visit the department or professor in person.
  • Use the UVA directory to look up the person and call or email them.

Further reading on job scams at the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams

You can help your fellow UVA students and use at Information Security by forwarding the suspected email to [email protected] so we can block the scammers.