There are several scams targeting UW students and staff. Learn how to identify scams and protect your personal information.
Scams targeting UW students and staff
There is a continuous stream of email, text and phone scams aimed at UW students and staff. These hoaxes are not new but they are constantly being adapted in order to better target personal and financial information and accounts belonging to members of the UW community. These scammers may:
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- Ask you to buy gift cards or to send or receive money advances with the promise of easy jobs, tuition discounts or other rewards.
- Entice you with internships, financial aid or tuition payments.
- Send messages that appear to be from UW employees, but they are sent from phony or spoofed email accounts.
- Ask you to provide a cell phone number or non-UW email address in order to contact you via alternative methods.
- Claim to making a technical support call from a vendor, such as Microsoft or Apple.
Stay aware and protect your UW NetID credentials
The following tips may help keep your personal information and UW NetID login credentials secure throughout the year:
- Beware of requests for transfers of money or gift cards.
- Messages that solicit money, ask for your financial or bank account information, or offer to send you money should be regarded as highly suspicious.
- Regard with suspicion any unsolicited phone calls (or email or text messages) that offer support for banking, computer, or technical services.
- Be cautious about clicking links in email, even from someone you know.
- Use strong passwords and protect your UW NetID credentials.
- Report suspected email scams to help@uw.edu.
- If you’ve been a victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement, such as UW Police.
Resources
Vendors
Information Security Resources
Specific scams
Government websites