Scams are very common, and sadly a lot more people than you may think fall for them. Preying on desperate, broke school kids is a horrible thing to do, but sadly, for many University of Windsor students, that was the reality earlier in November.
Emails sent to students from an edu email asking them to apply for a tutoring job were popping up everywhere. Allegedly, a man named Brian Novak was sending these emails looking for “a young minded dedicated individual that is willing to take on multiple tasks and willing to do whatever job is needed”. That’s a little bit sketchy right off the bat, Brian. The email also stated that this was a “work from home position” but indicated that the company planned to relocate into offices soon. Following the end of this email was a link to the application form.
Many students quickly applied to get some easy money and work from home. After filling out the application, they were informed that they had received the position. After the confirmation emails were sent, the students were then asked to deposit a check to buy children’s toys that would apparently be donated to charity. Turns out, these “checks” were fraudulent checks used to get people’s bank information and steal all their money. These types of checks tend to bounce, and they often cause bank accounts to lock due to fraudulent activity. However, there’s one drastic downside: if you use that fraudulent money to pay for things, the bank could possibly contact the police, and that is definitely something you don’t want to deal with after this whole fiasco.
In an eerily similar case, a student, Alexandria, received a job posting email and had a vague job posting instagram account try to follow her. The coincidence? Her instagram handle has her last name, which is also included in her student university email. Could this be the same sketchy thing our old pal Brian was doing with his fraud money?
The moral of the story here is don’t trust everything you see. Many people try to steal money through scams, and not every email is absolutely secure from potential . Keep your eye out for anything that looks suspicious, and stay safe!