Look Out for Scams
The email below was sent to El Camino students recently. It preys on many fears about COVID-19 and money. There are at least 8 red flags in this email, so keep a look out for similar emails! Offers like this, that encourage you to hurry and use a non edu email are very suspicious.
You can report any suspected scams to spamalert@elcamino.edu
Every email pictured below is a real scam that was sent to El Camino students! Most scams have these elements:
- A vague greeting, along with the fact that the sender doesn't seem to know El Camino College does not have any residential students.
- No identification of the "we" this email is referring to.
- Offering money that seems too good to be true (especially during difficult times)
- Asking for your phone number is a huge red flag
- Asking for a non- .edu email is another huge flag, as it means the people don't want to be traced through your .edu account
- A sense of urgency, especially in connection with money, is extremely suspicious.
- Urgency makes people make poor decisions
- Who is this person? There is zero indication. This is not shown in the photo, but the name signed does NOT match the sender email.
