The Phish Tank

Phishing Impersonation

Welcome to the "Phish Tank"

This page highlights examples of phishing emails received on campus. These examples are intended to educate every Berkeley email user on how to spot a phish. If you receive an email not listed here and that seems suspicious, report it via the methods listed above. For more tips on avoiding phish, visit our Fight the Phish page.

How to report phishing:

  • Open the message

  • To the right of 'Reply' arrow

  • Select 'More' (typically denoted with three vertical dots)

  • Then 'Report phishing'

If you are unable to log into bMail, forward the message to phishing@berkeley.edu

Fake UC Berkeley Financial Support Program

December 4, 2024

This phony email was sent impersonating a UC Berkeley administrative department. It was attempting to get users to click with a bogus $2,250 financial bonus for eligible faculty and staff.

What makes this a phishing message?

The sender is not an @berkeley.edu sender and the login page is...Read more about Fake UC Berkeley Financial Support Program

Fake Email Account Suspension email

December 2, 2024

This fake email termination message was received by many users allegedly telling them their campus email account would be suspended.

Commonly used phony subject lines include:

'ADVANCE WARNING'

'***Urgent*** Your Account Will Be Suspended'

'ATTENTION...Read more about Fake Email Account Suspension email

Phony Remote virtual Assistant Job

December 2, 2024

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...Read more about Phony Remote virtual Assistant Job

Fake: One of Your Students has Covid Phish

November 12, 2024

This fake email was sent to a number of teaching faculty members, alerting them falsely that they were exposed to a student in class with Covid.

What makes this a phishing message?

This targeted phishing scam pretending to be a UC WarnMe Health alert.

This targeted phishing scam...Read more about Fake: One of Your Students has Covid Phish

Fake: Phony Docusign Termination Email

October 1, 2024
What makes this a phishing message?

This email has been specifically targeting UC Berkeley Executives and asks them to click a link and enter their credentials to review an employee termination agreement.

Tips if Something Seems Off:

The sender name indicates an official Docusign like...Read more about Fake: Phony Docusign Termination Email

Fake: New Sextortion Scam with Geolocation Data

October 1, 2024
What makes this a phishing message?

This is a classic 'sextortion' hoax from a random GMail email address.

https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/20517-scam-alert-beware-of...Read more about Fake: New Sextortion Scam with Geolocation Data

Fake: URGENT: COVID-19 Variant Case Alert

July 3, 2024

This phony potential Covid contact alert was received by many users sent to their Campus bMail accounts.

What makes this a phishing message?

This targeted phishing scam is using a fake UC Berkeley email address

From: UC Berkeley Alerts <...Read more about Fake: URGENT: COVID-19 Variant Case Alert

PHISHING EXAMPLE: Phony Email confirmation Text Message

June 11, 2024

This fake email termination notification was received by many users on their personal cell phone numbers via text message.

What makes this a phishing message?

This targeted phishing scam is pretending to be a UC Berkeley technician and uses urgency and fear to cause the recipients...Read more about PHISHING EXAMPLE: Phony Email confirmation Text Message

PHISHING EXAMPLE: Fraudulent 'Broken Lab Equipment' Scam

January 30, 2024
What makes this a phishing message?

This targeted phishing scam impersonates the UC Berkeley faculty member or campus lab manager.

This email is sent to the parents of a student working in a campus lab. It invents a phony 'accident' that damaged an expensive piece of lab equipment and...Read more about PHISHING EXAMPLE: Fraudulent 'Broken Lab Equipment' Scam

Fake DUO Authentication Request

October 9, 2023
What makes this a phishing message?

This targeted phishing scam impersonates the UC Berkeley Duo Admin to create fear to cause the recipients to act, scanning the QR code which leads to a malicious link.

This targeted phishing scam uses urgency and fear to cause the recipients to act,...Read more about Fake DUO Authentication Request

PHISHING EXAMPLE: Phone Fraud, Chinese Consulate

February 8, 2023
If you are unable to log into bMail, forward the message to phishing@berkeley.edu. For more information visit https://security.berkeley.edu/resources/phishingRead more about PHISHING EXAMPLE: Phone Fraud, Chinese Consulate

Students: Beware of employment scams via email

December 7, 2023

Every year, students at UC Berkeley are scammed out of thousands of dollars via fake employment offers. Beware of unsolicited emails, phone calls, texts or even facebook messages offering internship or employment...Read more about Students: Beware of employment scams via email