Job Scams targeting NAU students
This page shows real examples of job scams and explains the indicators that show their fraudulence. See our page on email phishing for more information on identifying phishing emails, and how to report them.
Example 1
Here are some indicators in the example above to look out for:
- The from name is not a department or person at NAU, however, be aware the name field is easily faked;
- The from email address is not an nau.edu email address. Official email from NAU comes from an nau.edu email address unless indicated by a trusted source;
- Scams typically claim an offer too good to be true;
- This email has a signature section at the body that has the name of a real person at NAU, however, the phone number is not associated with that person. If you have any doubt about an email, contact the person directly through a trusted means of communication.
Example 2
Here are some indicators in the example above to look out for:
- The from name is not a department or person at NAU, however, be aware the name field is easily faked;
- The from email address is not an nau.edu email address. Official email from NAU comes from an nau.edu email address unless indicated by a trusted source;
- Scams typically claim an offer too good to be true;
- This email requests personal information via email which is not a secure means of communicating sensitive information;
- This email has a signature section in the body that has the name of a real person at NAU, however, the email is not a legitimate email address associated with that person. If you have any doubt about an email, contact the person directly through a trusted means of communication.
Example 3
Here are some indicators in the example above to look out for:
- The from name is not a department or person at NAU, however, be aware the name field is easily faked.
- The from email address is not an nau.edu email address. Official email from NAU comes from an nau.edu email address unless indicated by a trusted source.
- The subject is a little odd, however, be aware that some scams are made to look very realistic.
- Scams typically claim an offer too good to be true.
- The link in the email goes to a Google Form. When interacting with a web page that is collecting data, make sure it is legitimate for the service. NAU-related services are mostly under nau.edu domains. When in doubt, go directly to the website for the service or ask a trusted contact how to reach the service.