A sophisticated scam
Those who respond as described in the email receive an email with a couple of questions regarding personal suitability. After the student responds again, they receive a "contract" outlining salary and working conditions. One of the points in the contract states that the "research assistant" will occasionally need to advance money for small purchases, which will be reimbursed along with their salary.
They never hear back
So far, dozens of students have been fooled. They have purchased various electronic gift cards with their own money on behalf of the "professor" and sent them to the scammer. After that, they hear nothing more and do not receive either their salary or reimbursement.
Do Not Fall for It!
The emails that UiO CERT, UiO's own response team for IT security incidents, have accessed have some variants, but the common traits are many. Here are some of them:
- The text is in English.
- The salary is stated in dollars ($).
- The email address the emails are sent from is not a UiO address. Nor is the address to which students are supposed to send their response.
- The signature is from a person with the title of professor, often a professor who actually works at UiO.
- The whole exchange, after several emails, ends with you having to advance money for gift cards or similar items.
Tips to avoid being scammed
- If you are unsure whether an email from someone at UiO is authentic, look up their UiO email and send them a message there.
- Always check the sender's address and any reply-to address. Is it likely that the address is who it claims to be?
- Never provide usernames and passwords in an email or on websites linked in an email.
- Do not advance money for others, especially people you have not met or cannot confirm the identity of.
- Talk to others about scam attempts and warn those you meet.
Sad situation
These scams are sophisticated and take place over an extended period. Several emails are exchanged before you have to advance money, and you even get a "contract". The scammers have plenty of time, which may be somewhat atypical. But it is a scam. Those who have fallen for it have lost money, something most students cannot afford. Several of the victims are international students who are often in an even more difficult financial situation than Norwegian students. Talk to your fellow students about scams. It could help warn them.
Learn more about email scams (phishing) and how to recognize it
- UiO's postmaster has a webpage where you can get tips on how to recognize scam messages. →See the postmaster's page on scam messages.