In the past few weeks, the Division of Information Technology has been alerted to job scams sent to users by email. These scams promise good pay for minimal effort, usually for remote work. Often these scams will ask you to respond to a different address than the one that sent the message, or through other methods such as text or voice. The scams will often ask for your information, including:
name and full address
cell phone number and personal email address
banking or credit card information
passport information and/or social security number (SSN)
in some cases, your resume
This information can be used to impersonate you by opening credit in your name, or drain finances from your current accounts. Users have also reported fake invoices from well known companies, as well as check or money order scams.
If at any time you receive a suspicious email asking for your personal information, even from someone appearing to be affiliated with UMBC, do not respond or forward the message to anyone other than security@umbc.edu. We will help to verify the legitimacy of these messages.
If you think that you are a victim of identity theft, contact the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Division of Consumer Protection at 410-528-8662 or visit https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/CPD/default.aspx.
For more detailed information on prevention and resolution techniques, see our webpage on Tips to Avoid Identity Theft: https://itsecurity.umbc.edu/cyber-awareness/tips-to-avoid-identity-theft/
Damian Doyle
Deputy CIO, Senior Associate VP and Interim CISO
Division of Information Technology