SECUIRTY ALERT: Probable email scam originating from compromised SM论坛 account

CSIT has reports this morning that new instances of a likely scam have been received in many SM论坛 mailboxes.  This potential scam originates from a compromised SM论坛 accounts and, therefore, may seem superficially to be more trustworthy than they might otherwise.

The suspect message has the Subject 鈥淪M论坛: JOB OPPORTUNITY鈥� suggesting that the message is in some way endorsed by the University.  The body of the message claims to be a recruitment for a job which doesn鈥檛 impact present employment or studies.  It also suggests possible compensation of up to $500 weekly.  A disguised  link is included in the message which, if followed, leads to a site soliciting contact information.  The 鈥渟ignature鈥� again suggests a connection to SM论坛 by purporting to come from 鈥淛ob Placement and Student Services鈥�.

The message is in no way connected to or endorsed by SM论坛.  There is no office with the title provided in the message and student employment opportunities are NOT handle in this way by the University.

Unlike phishing scams, this is not an attempt to immediately compromise your account or trick you into revealing confidential information.  It is rather an attempt to engage you with the scammer as they enlist you to some service.  In some cases, you would be asked to make purchases (supposedly to evaluate stores and services)  and transfer the value of the purchased items to the scammer.  The 鈥渕oney鈥� you are advanced to make the purchases subsequently turns out to be fraudulent.  In other cases, the site acts only as an (unnecessary) broker for a fee.

If you have received any email of the sort described above, please delete it immediately.  If you have already acted on such an email message, stop communicating with the scammer immediately.