Pitt Information Technology is aware of a new phishing scam targeting the University of Pittsburgh community. The scam, which appears to originate from a pitt.edu address, advertises a fictitious job as an administrative assistant. The message may use a variety of Subjects and asks recipients to reply with an alternate email address and their school schedule. Below is a sample of the scam:
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Subject: ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT REMOTE JOB
Some departments are currently hiring individuals who can assist some of their visiting professors by providing basic admin duties remotely.
The successful candidate will Liaise with staff, other departments, and/or external organization concerning matters regarding assigned work as well as coordinating with the Director.
Weekly Salary:
$400 ( $350 +$50 for miscellaneous including tax)
For more Information. Contact (email address redacted) with your alternative “email address” as well as your school schedule.
Sincerely,
Frank Garza
Senior investment Director
Phone number redacted
Email address redacted
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If you received this message (or any message similar to it), please report it as a phishing scam by forwarding the email message as an attachment to phish@pitt.edu. Detailed instructions on reporting scams are available at http://technology.pitt.edu/phishingscams.
Pitt IT strongly recommends that you do not reply to unsolicited emails or emails from unverifiable sources. If you were not expecting to receive such an email, confirm with the sender prior to interacting with the message. If you must interact with the message, avoid clicking on links contained in such emails. These may lead to sites that contain malicious software, or sites that attempt to steal your credentials. If a link looks suspicious, you can hover over the link with your mouse to preview the URL without clicking on it.
In addition, Pitt IT recommends that all students, faculty, and staff install Antivirus and Anti-Malware (Malwarebytes) Protection. Departments can submit a help request to obtain Malwarebytes for multiple machines.
Please contact the Technology Help Desk at +1-412-624-HELP (4357) if you have any questions regarding this announcement.