Below you will find a sample of recent phishing attempts sent to the SUNY Geneseo community. If you suspect an email to be malicious, check the Phish Bowl to see if it has been posted. If it is not listed here, do not assume it is safe. There are many variants of every phish, and new ones are sent each day.
Report any suspicious emails that are not listed as phishing or safe.
If you have clicked on a phishing link or interacted with a malicious email in anyway, contact the Help Desk immediately.
Scam Alert: COVID Relief Scams
April 12, 2022
Students and employees have received emails, text messages, and phone calls in recent weeks purporting to represent a SUNY COVID Relief Fund and offering the recipient the opportunity to be awarded $4000. Please note this is not a real program and the messages often come from a supposed SUNY employee who is also not real.
Scammers continue to use 'COVID' and 'stimulus' and similar phrases to entice people. Please use caution and report any suspicious messages. Emails can be reported within Gmail and texts messages can be reported to your cell carrier at 7726, which spells SPAM on a number pad.
Job Offer Scams
February 10, 2022
Please be aware that we have had reports of students affected by job offer scams. The communication with the scammer may originate from a legitimate job posting website, such as Handshake or Indeed, but the scammer will encourage you to communicate via your personal email or via text messages.
Red flags to look out for:
- Remote only virtual assistant position.
- The application process takes place entirely through email.
- A much higher than normal pay rate.
- The person's email address domain does not match the company they purport to represent.
If you believe you have been impacted by a job offer scam:
- If the scammer contacted your Geneseo email address, report it to the Help Desk.
- Report the fraud to the FTC and/or FBI.
- Monitor your credit report for unexpected new accounts.
Recent Phishing Emails
March 15, 2022
Sender:
James Boiani <boiani@geneseo.edu>Subject:
VIRTUAL PA JOBContents:
|[JOB BRIEF |]
There is a need for urgent replacement for a Personal assistant (Virtual).
We are looking for a friendly, simple, and trustworthy personal assistant, you can take it
as a part-time job depending on your choice. The hours will be between 2 to 3 hours daily,
this time can be increased or reduced depending on your availability.
WAGE:
$400 to $750 weekly, depending on how many tasks you were able to fulfill weekly.
Duties:
Manage appointments, meetings, and reminders.
Book medical appointment
Flight Reservation
Manage Payment between multiple Vendors
[...]March 14, 2022
Sender:
IT HelpDesk (via Google Drive) Subject:
Document shared with you: "Faculty_Evaluation.docx"Contents:
ithelpdesk245@gmail.com shared a document
ithelpdesk245@gmail.com has invited you to edit the following document:
Paul J. Pacheco shared a file with you.
Faculty_Evaluation.docxMarch 2, 2022
Sender:
Michael Henderson <fishjennifer27@gmail.com>Subject:
TutorContents:
Hello
How are you doing today? This is Michael Henderson. I saw your contact at Geneseo - The State University of New York
Department of Chemistry under the Directory's portal. I seek a private introductory Chemistry tutor for my Daughter.
I would like to know if you have a STUDENT/TUTOR available for the job or Perhaps might be interested and available to tutor my daughter.
As you will be unable to tutor her owing to your BUSY SCHEDULE/STATUS, you can RECOMMEND one of your STUDENT(s) who is capable of tutoring.
Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the tutoring could be done remotely. This depends on the tutor's directive.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Michael
Safe Emails Reported as Phishing
None at this time
Note: CIT routinely sends phishing simulation training/test emails. These emails will not appear here but please continue to report them.