Anytime a stranger requests personal information, such as a bank account number, it usually sets off alarm bells that something isn’t right. Often these scams are targeted toward seniors who are more susceptible to offers by mail and over the phone. According to an AARP survey, the average age of scam victims in 2012 was 69.

But in an FBI report circulated among university students last month, these criminals have a new mark. College age students have been the targets of what the FBI describes as a “too good to be true” work from home scam.

According to the FBI report, the scam is sent directly to the student’s email account offering positions in Human Resources and payroll. The catch: the student must provide their bank account and routing numbers in order to “set up direct deposit.” This scam devolves further, involving the student in theft from another victim’s employee deposit. After the theft deposit, the student is required to wire amounts to different accounts making the student out to be a mutual facilitator of the scam. The consequences could be left on the shoulders of the student, as the bank account risks closure for fraudulent activity. Fraud can adversely affect an individual’s credit history and leave him or her vulnerable to prosecution.

It is not clear from the FBI press release if any students have been affected by this scam, and, if so, how many. Although the warning is aimed at students, these warnings apply to anyone who receives strange emails.

Here’s what to look out for:

  • A job offer that sounds too good to be true. It probably is.
  • A job that requires the depositing of funds into your account and wiring them to different accounts.
  • Poor use of the English language in e-mails, such as incorrect grammar, capitalization and tenses. Many of the scammers who send these messages are not native English speakers.
  • Requests for personal credentials of any kind, such as bank account information, login names, passwords, or any other identifying information in response to recruitment e-mail.

Additionally, an important policy should always be to research the company one is applying for to be sure that the company exists.

Students who receive these emails should forward them to the university’s IT department and tell their friends to be on the lookout for the scam.

If you believe you have received such an email, it is important to contact the FBI through the complaint form or to contact one’s respective campus police.

—Adriana Hammond