Email scammers are preying on students here as a nationwide trend has finally reached PNW.

Two variations of the scam have been identified, said Brian Miller, director of Public Safety. The first targets students searching for jobs. With this scam, students receive what appears to be an email from a faculty member who is offering the student a job.

“They have the student go to Walgreens to buy a … gift card and read off the numbers of the card to them to secure their job and get the supplies they’ll need,” said Miller. “Of course, what they are really doing is scamming the student because there is no job and it’s just a scam phone call.” 

The second scam targets international students. 

“The scammer sent out an email to them or called them stating that they are from the Immigration and Customs Service and that there is a problem with the student’s I-9 Form [a form used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals in the U.S.],” Miller said. “They tell the students if they don’t want to go to jail for this problem, they have to go to Walgreens and get the same … card and send them $500 on them.”

He said some international students have fallen for the scam, but most understand they are being targeted by scammers and immediately report them. 

“Fortunately, most [international students] know that’s not how Customs and Immigration do things,” he said. “At an early orientation, we told the international students that if they are ever contacted by customs or immigration to give the University Police a call and we can verify very quickly if it’s legitimate or not.” 

Universities nationwide have been warning their students about email scams that target college populations for several years.

Researchers from Penn State University reviewed more than 5,000 English-language email scams targeting various universities between 2014 and 2022. They found swindlers are increasingly using employment opportunity scams to target university communities. 

Miller said students who suspect they are being targeted should immediately contact authorities. He said campus police will take care of the rest.

“As soon as we find out a scam is out there, our IT department will go to work to block the scammer,” said Miller. “If we are notified quickly, we can do a lot.”

Most importantly, he said students must protect themselves and their personal information.

“Never give out your Social Security number and date of birth to sources you do not know about,” said Miller. “Social Security numbers are your life line.”