September 22, 2025
This phony email is allegedly from a campus department regarding new salary details or a financial bonus.
The message will request you follow a link and enter your CalNet username and password, and often personal cell phone number for your new salary or compensation details.
What makes this a phishing message?
Salary and compensation details are announced in the expected UC Berkeley official channels. The scam uses a the promise of a salary increase of a bonus to lure the recipient into clicking the link and sending credentials.
Tips if Something Seems Off:
- If the deal sounds too good to be real, it is not real.
- Any salary or compensation adjustment will come from official campus communication channels.
- When reviewing compensation or benefit information, CalNet credentials should not be required by any other site except the legitimate UCPath portal.
Follow up with the sender separately
- If you didn’t expect it, reject it. Or follow up with the individual directly in a separate email or call/text to confirm.
Report and/or flag it
- Open the message
- To the right of the 'Reply' arrow select 'More' (typically denoted with three vertical dots)
- Then 'Report phishing'
- For suspicious messages received by text, please take a screen shot and forward the message to phishing@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail) For more information visit https://security.berkeley.edu/resources/phishing
Original Message:
