Did you get an email that promises you amazing financial aid, grants or an amazing job opportunity from UNICEF? If so, ask yourself – could this be a scam?
Key things to look for:
- Sender: Does the sender make sense? UNICEF or anyone promising money would not legitimately email you from another college or a free email account (Like @outlook.com or @gmail.com).
- Do they claim that you cannot email them back with your @shocker account because it is part of a “reading test” or “checking your attention to detail”?
- Do they claim to be from a generic organization without a website, physical address, or logos/branding?
- Are they going to hire you without an interview?
- Did they claim that they know you, but then ask your name, phone number, name of your university and want your mobile number?
- Do they only want to talk to you via text?
- Do they claim you have free money?
If you see this in an email – it’s a scam.
They will send you fake checks. They work out a deal where you cash the check and send them the money via bank transfer app. The scam is the checks take a few days to clear, but the bank makes the money available to you right away. When the checks fail to clear and turn out to be fake, the bank will take the money out of your account. There is no insurance for this. You end up losing it all.
Be smart – do not take checks from unknown sources and think about emails before getting excited.
Unsure if an email is a scam? Report it. Hit the “Report Phish” button in outlook or send the message to spamreport@wichita.edu.