Beware of Scams

Faculty, staff and students of the university are often targets for scams. However, anybody can be vulnerable to a scam. Scams typically result in asking for money or personal information disguised as a reward such as a free gift, money or a job offer, or designed as a problem that you need to fix such as verifying personal information, paying money to settle a debt, or downloading specific virus protection. Protect yourself by understanding how scammers operate and how to verify information. Below are some common scams we see affect university users. 

Student Job Scams

Every semester we see fake job scams sent to students. These jobs may be advertised on job sites or sent unsolicited to a student's university email account. Many job offers will include a Google Form as a job application to fill out personal information including a social security number. Instead of a student getting a job, scammers are stealing personal information.

Job scams generally include one or more of the following:

  •  Unsolicited - You didn't apply for this job.
  •  Little or no effort required to apply. No resume or job application.
  •  Urgency (i.e., there are only a few positions available, and they're going fast)
  •  Too good to be true - too much money for very little, if any work.
  •  No face-to-face interaction with the employer.
  •  Employer's email is not a business account but uses Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.
  •  In some cases, the email addresses of faculty, staff and other students have been compromised and used to send fake job scams. Students seeking employment on campus should do so using jobs.weber.edu. This is the only legitimate place to apply for jobs at Weber State.

More information can be found here - https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams

Honor Society Scams

Students may receive offers to join fake honor societies. Although the honor society may seem legit, they are often designed to accept membership dues without actually having any legitimate credentials. Instead these organizations steal money and personal information. 

Common signs of fake honor societies include:

  •  Excessive fees

  •  Unclear requirements for membership

Always do your research before joining a credible honor society. Look up an honor society by using the Association of College Honor Society's Online Search Tool

Loan Forgiveness Scams

These scams typically target students or former students with promises to pay off student debt for a monthly fee. These scammers will also ask for student aid information such as a username and password. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Please visit the Federal Student Aid website to learn more about these scams and other resources for paying back loans.