GRADUATE STUDENT SCAM WARNING: You are being targeted.

A client of mine was recently targeted for a scam specifically aimed at graduate students. Fortunately, he noticed some warning signs but others at that school were not so fortunate. The attempt is highly tailored to each person, so it’s easy to see why it would be effective and I wanted to warn all of you!

The scam starts off with a text message “Hi, STUDENT’S NAME, How are you? I need to know if you are available at the moment. The sign off used HIS ADVISOR’S ACTUAL NAME! The scammer had most likely gotten his phone number and advisor’s name from his online curriculum vitae (CV).

The student replied to the text message to say that he was available and could call him in a few minutes. The scammer then replied that they were in a meeting but that they needed the student to go to the nearest store and buy Apple cards for a presentation right after the meeting.

There were a couple of warning signs, the main one being the text message was received from a telephone number that was not the same as the student’s advisor’s number. He immediately dialed his professor’s actual number and the professor confirmed that it was a scam.

This scam hit multiple graduate students at his university! Be aware that this scam is going around. I know researchers sometimes use gift cards to pay research participants so I could see how this could fool people. If anyone you don’t know or whose identity you cannot verify asks you for gift cards, it is very likely a scam. If your research lab uses gift cards, discuss this scam with your advisor and come up with a way to make sure any requests are legitimate (e.g., a code word or some other method of confirmation).

Be aware, this scam is also targeting graduate students via email.

Grad Students Targeted By Scam: Here’s what to do.

If you’ve been targeted for a scam, you can report it to the FTC. They also have advice for what to do if you think you’ve been scammed out of money or personal information.