College students are being warned to be vigilant after researchers uncover a new scam campaign based on fake job listings.
According to Proofpoint, the campaign will begin in March 2023 and run through June, targeting primarily North American students with emails purporting to come from employers in the bioscience, healthcare and biotech sectors. It is said that
For more information on Upfront Fee Fraud, Upfront Fee Fraud Surges Over 600%.
The “job” offered was related to light remote data entry work and the email contained a PDF attachment outlining the position offered, salary and other specifications. was
If the recipient is involved in fraud, the sender requests a video interview to exchange additional information.
“Proofpoint was unable to confirm the request made in the video interview, but based on previous associated activity, the researchers said the attacker would have to pay an upfront fee before receiving the equipment, which the recipient said We are assessing with a high degree of certainty that it is likely that we have communicated this to the public, and we consider this to be a threat that the actor will collect,” Proofpoint explained.
“A retrospective analysis identified multiple related and similar campaigns using the same biotech themes leading to advance payment fraud (AFF) activity in Proofpoint threat data and external sources dating back to at least March 2023. Similar related activities following the employment fraud model go back many years.” ”
The security vendor argued that students are likely to be more tolerant of remote work, especially given the rising costs of living and education, which could make them a popular target for such scams. He added that international students may not spot fraud red flags as quickly as native English speakers.
The UK’s AFF surged eightfold between March 2020 and December 2022, despite a 14% drop in bank and credit account fraud, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
