This is a fraudulent offer for a remote assistant position. The scammer will impersonate a real UCB professor or department and try to take the conversation offline to a 'personal email' address.
Common bogus email subject lines include:
'Approved Part - Time Job ( Offer For Staffs & Students )'
'VIRTUAL PERSONAL ASSITANT JOB (REMOTE)'
'**NEW INTERNSHIP OFFER**'
'Internship Opportunities at University of California, Berkeley'
'Research Assistant Position'
What makes this a phishing message?
This targeted phishing scam pretending to be a UC Berkeley professor of administrator. They attempt to direct the conversation to a non-UC Berkeley email, or via personal text.
This targeted phishing scam uses familiar campus departments and indicates.
Tips if Something Seems Off:
No legitimate UC Berkeley employment will ever contact directly via text or to personal cell phone numbers.
The email is from a non-UCB account, although sometimes a compromised @berkeley.edu email may be used.
A check of the campus directory has no listing for this individual as a staff member.
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.eduFor more information visit https://security.berkeley.edu/resources/phishing
Original Message:
