Source
r/Scams•
katachu

My mother received a job offer for me from someone who says they got my contact info from my University.

Context: I just graduated from University, and I've been looking for a job in my field of expertise.

My mom texted me this:

Hello, I contacted your school admin at [my University] I am an Alumni. I explained that I was looking for an Administrative/Personal Assistant and your contact was sent to me, they said you are an honest person. This job is flexible so you can perform the tasks during your spare time outside of school and the position is extremely rewarding. Get back to me ASAP via my email: [email with spelling errors] if you are interested. Regards , [Name]

Now there are a lot of red flags with this post, including that they sent this to my mother and not to me. Isn't my personal information protected by ferpa? The message assumes I'm still enrolled. There are spelling and grammar errors. My resume is available on LinkedIn. It looks like whoever sent this hasn't seen it, but somehow knows where I went to school?

I don't want to pass up an opportunity, but I'm thinking responding to this one is a bad idea.

Posted Jul 16, 2020, 3:13 PM UTC

17
OnceFrozen•

Very much a scam. Email with spelling errors, offer of a job without interview, the flags are there. Run don't walk from it.

5
katachuOP•

That's what I thought! Thanks for helping me

1
twentydollarcopay•

Its a scam. The scammer probably got your info from social media or your school directory. Just ignore it and tell your mom its a scam.

For what it's worth, it's better connecting with your alumni association directly if you want to job hunt that way. Most job ads at colleges are for MLMs or are just straight scams anyway.

4
katachuOP•

Thank you so much. I'll look into that.

1
twentydollarcopay•

Good luck! If you can't find an alumni association on your schools website you may be able to find an unofficial one on Facebook. You still may run into shitty scams/MLMs, but at least you're interacting with real people.

1
EugeneBYMCMBQuality Contributor•

It's a very common !fakecheck scam, ignore the scammer and move on.

2
AutoModeratorMOD•

AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the fake check scam. The fake check scam arises from many different situations (fake job scams, fake payment scams, etc), but the bottom line is always the same, you receive a check (online or in real life), you deposit a check and see the money in your account, and then you use the funds to give money to the scammer (usually through gift cards, Western Union, or cash). The bank will take the initial deposit back in anywhere from a week to a month, and any money you sent to the scammer will come out of your own personal funds. If you do not have the funds to cover the amount, your balance will go negative. Your bank will usually charge a fee for depositing a bad check, and your account may be closed depending on the severity of the scam.

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1