Dear Pitt Students,

We are writing to alert you to a series of email phishing scams that advertise fraudulent employment opportunities. A recent version of the scam—shown in the example below—advertises a position as personal assistant.

IMPORTANT: If you receive this message or any message similar to it, do not respond. Instead, report the suspicious email to Pitt Information Technology by forwarding the email as an attachment to phish@pitt.edu.

Scammers who perpetrate this fraud may also ask for your personal email account or mobile phone number to communicate with you. 

Know How to Spot a Scam

The University Career Center provides detailed guidance for Identifying and Avoiding Fraudulent Jobs and Scams. Keep an eye out for these indicators of potential employment scams:

• Advertise high pay rate given the nature of the position or its qualification requirements
• Offer a large payment or reward for use of your bank account (often in the form of depositing a cashier’s check or money order into your bank account and asking you to transfer/use the money before it has cleared)
• Request that you pay or deposit money as a part of your application process, or ask you to pay a large amount of money up front for business supplies
• Contain typos or awkward language, or include an email address with many periods or other characters to divide words/names

Additional guidance for spotting phishing scams is available on Pitt IT’s website.

Example of a Fraudulent Job Posting

*********************

Position: Personal Assistant Part-Time (Work-Remotely)
Pay: 350.00 (Weekly)
Hours: 9 hours Average (Weekly)

Currently searching for an enthusiastic candidate to assist a busy professional who owns and operates multiple businesses in the area (including production and customer service-oriented businesses).

Duties:

• Produce reports, presentations and briefs
• Manage diary, schedule meetings and appointments
• Monitor personal expenses and overseeing monthly/annual budgets for projects
• Make travel arrangements
• Act as the point of contact between the manager and internal/external clients

Experience/Qualifications:

• MS Office and English proficiency
• Outstanding organizational and time management skills
• Up to date with latest Google applications and calendar
• Ability to multitask and prioritize daily reminders
• Eligible to work in USA

Interested in applying for the above position? Send a copy of your Resume/Cover Letter to [email address redacted].

*********************

Tips to Stay Safe

You can subscribe to receive text messages about IT alerts—including phishing scams—at pi.tt/alerts. Add your mobile phone number, click Opt-in Lists, and check the subscribe box next to IT Alerts.

Recent scam alerts are also posted to Pitt IT’s website at technology.pitt.edu/news-and-alerts. If you are ever unsure whether an email message is a scam, please contact the 24/7 IT Help Desk at 412-624-HELP (4357).

Sincerely,

Mark D. Henderson
Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer

Kenyon R. Bonner, EdD
Vice Provost and Dean of Students