The Communications Director and Public Information Officer for the University of Oregon Police Department, Kelly McIver, said employees at the university are at risk of falling victim to a fraudulent scheme that attempts to steal salaries.
McIver said that student employees, especially international students, are more likely to fall victim to these scams.
“We are constantly hearing about international students being targeted, because some of them lack familiarity with our government and systems,” McIver said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation made a public service announcement on Jan. 13, warning universities of the scam.
The PSA was prepared by the the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which handles complaints of fraud cases.
The IC3 said the scam sends fraudulent emails to employees informing them of a change in their human resource status.
The email directs employees to a website to “identify” the change. If employees enter their login credentials, scammers can access their human resources accounts. This allows them to change the destination of the paycheck and link it to their own bank account, stealing employee paychecks.
The announcement noted how this crime is particularly troubling because university employees may not be fully recompensated for their lost salaries. In addition, the scammers may be able to use the stolen login information to steal money from other accounts of university employees.
Employees must be aware of and be able to recognize these scams to ensure they don’t fall victim.
The IC3 also said common indicators of fraud emails include “poor use of the English language, and incorrect website links.” It advises to never provide any personal information to websites from an email. Rather, navigating to an official website prior to doing so is much safer.
McIver said international students should go to the international office on campus anytime they have questions about anything they are sent. Similarly, IC3 encourages university employees to contact their human resources department before providing any credentials online.