The Cornell community has experienced an increase in phishing attempts over the past week. Scammers are impersonating the Office of Career Development to offer students work-study opportunities and remote internships. In some cases, these offers arrive on what appears to be legitimate department letterhead. 

It’s important to be skeptical and carefully evaluate these offers. Common red flags in these phishing scams include:

• Vague, broad or nonexistent descriptions of what’s expected of you
• A job offer that requires no interview or little to no previous experience
• Pay or hours that seem too good to be true
• A request for your bank account number or other personal, sensitive, or financial information
• An offer to send you money to purchase equipment or supplies, followed by a request that you send part of that payment back or forward it to a third party 

You can check the Cornell Phish Bowl to see whether a message has already been identified as a scam. You can also consult Verified Communications to confirm whether a message is legitimate. 

If you receive a scam message through your Cornell email account, report it to the Cornell Phish Bowl and notify University Career Development.

Learn more about what to do if you responded to a job or Internship scam. If you shared personal information or sent money, there are important steps you can take to secure your accounts and protect your identity.