Over the summer, we’ve seen an increase in scam emails—especially those advertising “part-time jobs”—that are designed to steal money from unsuspecting students. Please be aware that emails offering part-time work are always scam emails designed to extort money from you. It’s very unfortunate that several students have lost money as a result of these scams.
Below is an example of the email students have received:
Please read on for more information about scams and tips for finding a job in the current market.
How can I tell it’s a scam?
- The offers are unsolicited and are not for jobs you’ve applied for.
- The reply-to address, if one appears, doesn’t end with "virginia.edu."
- Legitimate jobs do not hire you via email, bypassing Human Resource tracking systems, without an interview, and without some kind of vetting process.
- Legitimate UVA job postings for students are posted in Workday and Handshake.
- Legitimate UVA jobs will compensate you via direct deposit, not via a check.
- Jobs do not pay you ahead of time for hours not yet performed.
How do they steal from me?
- 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.
What can I do if I get scammed?
- If you receive ANY unsolicited email offering a part-time job, personal or teaching assistant position, or any other employment, DO NOT RESPOND.
- You can help your fellow UVA students by forwarding the fraud email to UVA Information Security at [email protected] so they can block the scammers.
- If you want to follow up, contact the person or department but do not directly use any suggested addresses in the job solicitation email.
- Visit the department or professor in person.
- Use the UVA directory to look up the person and call or email them.
Read more consumer advice from the Federal Trade Commission.