What are the red flags of this scam?

The job offer arrives from a real .edu email address you have no prior relationship with — the account is hijacked • The role requires no formal interview — just reply to the email to get started • Positions offered include personal assistant, research helper, secret shopper, remote charity worker, or administrative aide • You receive a check to purchase equipment, office supplies, or gift cards before your first official day • The sender asks you to deposit the check and wire back the 'leftover' to a vendor or supplies account • You are asked to keep the arrangement confidential or act quickly before the position is filled • Your university's IT team has warned of phishing emails asking you to verify your email password to prevent deactivation — these are how the attacker gets in

What should I do if this happened to me?

Report any suspicious .edu job email to your university's IT security team right away — the real person whose account was hijacked needs to be notified • Never deposit a check from someone you met only by email — fake checks can take 2–3 weeks to bounce and your bank holds you liable for the full amount • If you already deposited a check, call your bank's fraud line immediately before wiring money or purchasing any gift cards • Verify all campus employment opportunities through your university's official career center website, not through email links • Look up the sender's name in the official university directory — if the real person is a faculty member, contact them through the directory to confirm the email is genuine • Any legitimate employer will pay you through official payroll after you start — they never pre-fund you by check for supplies before day one • Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

HIGH job Last reported: Oct 4, 2026 Share

An email from a real university address offers a campus job — but a scammer hijacked that account

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. Cybercriminals hijack legitimate university email accounts, then send fake job offers to students from those trusted addresses. Victims deposit a fraudulent check and are told to wire money back or buy gift cards for supplies — before the check bounces.

Cybercriminals hijack legitimate university email accounts, then send fake job offers to students from those trusted addresses. Victims deposit a fraudulent check and are told to wire money back or buy gift cards for supplies — before the check bounces.

Also known as: campus job email scam, .edu account hijacking job scam, university email fake personal assistant, college job advance fee fraud, hijacked professor email job offer

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Report any suspicious .edu job email to your university's IT security team right away — the real person whose account was hijacked needs to be notified
2 Never deposit a check from someone you met only by email — fake checks can take 2–3 weeks to bounce and your bank holds you liable for the full amount
3 If you already deposited a check, call your bank's fraud line immediately before wiring money or purchasing any gift cards
4 Verify all campus employment opportunities through your university's official career center website, not through email links
5 Look up the sender's name in the official university directory — if the real person is a faculty member, contact them through the directory to confirm the email is genuine
6 Any legitimate employer will pay you through official payroll after you start — they never pre-fund you by check for supplies before day one
7 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

Red flags

⚠ The job offer arrives from a real .edu email address you have no prior relationship with — the account is hijacked
⚠ The role requires no formal interview — just reply to the email to get started
⚠ Positions offered include personal assistant, research helper, secret shopper, remote charity worker, or administrative aide
⚠ You receive a check to purchase equipment, office supplies, or gift cards before your first official day
⚠ The sender asks you to deposit the check and wire back the 'leftover' to a vendor or supplies account
⚠ You are asked to keep the arrangement confidential or act quickly before the position is filled
⚠ Your university's IT team has warned of phishing emails asking you to verify your email password to prevent deactivation — these are how the attacker gets in

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Sources