Members of the U-M community are reporting phishing emails related to COVID-19 that appear to come from U-M leaders.
Targeting students with fake job offers
Some students have received an email from @gmail.com addresses under the fake signature of the U-M Chief Health Officer, Preeti Malani, that claims to be from U-M Public Affairs. Scammers often use U-M officials in their messaging to get your attention.
This is the fraudulent message text:
University of Michigan health professionals have been closely monitoring the spread of COVID-19 over the past two months.Therefore the university is organizing an online part time job to sustain the students living. KINDLY EMAIL BACK WITH YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS IF INTERESTED IN THIS JOB POSITION.
Do not reply to this email. It is a scam. This is a variation on student part-time job scams we have seen at U-M in the past (IA Notice: Student part-time job scam, 11/26/18). Phishing emails that appear to come from U-M employees, particularly leadership and managers, are a constant threat (IA Advisory: Uptick in phishing email impersonating U-M employees, 2/5/19; IA Notice: Got a minute? Are you available? 3/14/19).
COVID-19 scams and phishing are increasing
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FBI are reporting a surge in scams, fraud, and phishing related to the coronavirus and providing resources to help you identify them:
- Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding the Coronavirus (FTC)
- FBI Urges Vigilance During COVID-19 Pandemic (FBI)
In addition, the IRS is urging taxpayers to be on the lookout for scam artists trying to use the government's economic impact payments as cover for schemes to steal personal information and money (IRS: Economic Impact Payment Information Center). And with tax deadlines extended to July 15, you can expect attempts at tax fraud to continue well into the summer.
Check Safe Computing
We are maintaining a Coronavirus Scams page on Safe Computing. Check there for information about the latest scams, as well as links to legitimate sources of information.
You can also check Phishes & Scams on Safe Computing for examples of the latest phishing emails and scams reported by members of the U-M community.
Report phishing emails by sending them to ReportPhish@umich.edu.
Use extra caution and stay informed.
References
- Coronavirus Scams (Safe Computing)
- Phishes & Scams (Safe Computing)
- Beware of Tax Fraud (Safe Computing)
- Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding the Coronavirus (FTC)
- FBI Urges Vigilance During COVID-19 Pandemic (FBI)
- Economic Impact Payment Information Center (IRS)
- IA Notice: Student part-time job scam (11/26/18)
- IA Advisory: Uptick in phishing email impersonating U-M employee (2/5/19)
- IA Notice: Got a minute? Are you available? (3/14/19)