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Proofpoint are warning universities and students of a wave of targeted employment fraud scam emails
March 2022 by Proofpoint
Cybersecurity researchers at Proofpoint are warning universities and students of a wave of targeted employment fraud scam emails, which could cost them thousands of dollars if they fall victim.
• Cybercriminals are posing as recruiters and employers, attempting to entice cash-strapped students with a fake job offer using the promise of easy money working from home to collect personal data, steal money, or convince victims to unwillingly participate in illegal activities such as money laundering.
• Proofpoint is seeing almost 4,000 of these malicious email scams every day, which often involve fake pay checks, and requests for money through bank transfers and Bitcoin.
• These scams are almost exclusively targeting university students, and according to the FBI, victims on average report losing $3000.
• Proofpoint has seen several examples with job offers such as a personal assistant role with UNICEF and modelling jobs with fashion brands such as Zaful and Fashion Nova – screenshots below.
