A common misconception about cyber attackers is that they use only highly advanced tools and techniques to hack into peoples’ computers, accounts, lives. Cyber attackers have learned that the easiest ways to steal your information, hack your accounts, or infect your systems is by simply tricking you into doing it for them using a technique called social engineering. Gone are the days of the hacker sitting at their keyboard hammering out lines of code to gain access to data.
Phishing emails are targeting colleges and universities using free resources found on the Internet, such as Google Forms and Google Docs. These threats disproportionately impact students. Many of these phishing emails are designed to entice students with an easy, work-from-home job.
An employment fraud threat involves an attempt to recruit someone under the premise of a legitimate job offer. Threat actors (scammers) will craft fraudulent job offers, hoping to steal money or personal information, or to recruit an individual to unknowingly comply with illegal activities such as money laundering. Threat actors typically pose as recruiters or employers and try to entice victims with many opportunities.
There are many variations of this threat including job offers as caregivers, mystery shoppers, administrative assistants, models, or rebate processors. Employment fraud is differentiated from other threats such as Advanced Fee Fraud (AFF) due to the job theme and ultimate result or goal of the attacker. A recipient may end up getting “hired” for a job, role, or function aiding the attacker. With AFF the attacker is hoping to get a small amount money upfront by promising big money later. Employment fraud collects information and recruits unknowing participants into a criminal network. Some may initially start by collecting money allegedly for administrative fees or passport services, but that’s typically done to weed out applicants and is not usually the end goal. Additionally, participation in these schemes could result in a victim facing criminal charges for working as a money mule. The full anatomy of these types of targeted attacks is outlined in a recent blog post by Proofpoint researchers.
Visit UChicago Student Employment for available on-campus and remote employment opportunities. Student Employment offers a wide variety of on-campus jobs, internships, and research positions as well as several opportunities with local off-campus organizations.