The UCSB campus has recently received thousands of emails from threat actors pretending to be faculty or staff advertising job offers, research positions, or analyst opportunities. These emails are fraudulent job offers, and they are a scam.

Here are some examples of how to spot a scam:

  • The emails are sent from a @gmail.com address, not from a @ucsb.edu address.
  • The name that appears next to “From” when viewing the message details does not match the name at the bottom of the email (in the signature).
  • The sender typically asks for money or pictures of gift cards to be sent.
  • The sender asks you to respond using a personal email address or mobile/cell number and not a @ucsb.edu email address.
  • The sender emphasizes urgency.
  • The sender may send a check for a large sum of money (often valuing thousands of dollars) that will bounce a few days after it is cashed.

Scammers always use a similar style and technique. See an example below:

From: Professor Name <scammerXYZ@gmail.com>

Subject: PAID RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY

This is a notification to participate in an interdisciplinary research project collecting data and earn $500 weekly. This is an adaptable job requiring little prior experience and not to mention its flexibility to smoothly fit into your schedule. Provide the information below to indicate interest, and you will receive a follow-up detailing fully.

Professor [Name of a real Professor]

Department

UC SANTA BARBARA

Legitimate on- and off-campus employment opportunities for students are available on UCSB’s Career Services webpage via the Handshake app. UC Santa Barbara staff positions are posted at jobs.ucsb.edu and academic positions are listed at recruit.ap.ucsb.edu.

Please review the following article explaining job search safety tips: career.ucsb.edu/handshake-help-center/dont-get-scammed.

Any email sent from outside of ucsb.edu advertising a job offer, research position, analyst opportunity, or similar is most likely fraudulent.

If you receive one of these emails to your UCSB account, please do not reply to the sender. Send the email and headers to security@ucsb.edu for verification. See the following webpage for additional instructions on how to do this: it.ucsb.edu/report-harassing-or-unwanted-email.