New Semester, Same Scams: What Employees Need to Know

The beginning of a new semester is busy for everyone. New students, classes, deadlines, hiring, purchasing, and campus events create plenty of opportunities for scammers to blend in.

Faculty and staff are often targeted because they have access to university information, financial systems, student data, and departmental resources. Scammers may impersonate colleagues, senior leaders, IT, HR, vendors, or university departments.

The most common goal is to get you to click a link, share information, approve a login, or send money.

Fake University Emails

Scammers may send emails that appear to come from a colleague, department, dean, administrator, or another university office. They may use a compromised university account or create an address that looks similar to a legitimate one.

The message may ask you to review a document, complete a form, update information, or respond to an urgent request.

Watch for:

• Unexpected requests for information or action
• Messages that create urgency or pressure
• Links to unfamiliar login pages
• Sender addresses that look slightly different from official Montclair addresses
• Requests that are unusual for the sender

What to do: Verify the request through another method before responding or clicking. If the request came from a colleague, contact them using known contact information.

What a phishing email posing as the University can look like

Fake IT and Account Deactivation Scams

Scammers frequently impersonate IT departments and claim your account, email, VPN, or other university access will be deactivated unless you act immediately.

The message may ask you to click a link, reset your password, or “verify” your account.

Watch for:

• Threats that your account will be shut down immediately
• Unexpected password reset or verification requests
• Login links in unsolicited emails or texts
• MFA prompts you did not initiate

What to do: Do not click the link or approve an unexpected MFA prompt. Go directly to the official university login page or contact phishfiles@montclair.edu. 

What an IT phishing email can look like

MFA Fatigue and Unexpected Login Requests

Attackers may repeatedly send MFA prompts hoping you will eventually approve one. They may also contact you by phone, email, or text and claim they are from IT, asking you to approve a login request.

Watch for:

• Repeated MFA prompts you did not initiate
• Someone asking you to approve a login request
• Unexpected requests for MFA codes

What to do: Never approve a login request you did not initiate. Report unexpected MFA activity and change your password if you believe your account may be compromised.

Learn more about MFA fatigue

Fake Invoices and Payment Requests

Scammers may send fake invoices or payment requests that appear to come from a vendor, university department, or service provider.

They may claim a payment is overdue or ask you to update banking information. Some may impersonate a supervisor and ask you to quickly pay an invoice before a deadline.

Watch for:

• Unexpected invoices
• Last-minute changes to payment or banking information
• Pressure to pay immediately
• Requests to use gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or personal payment apps

What to do: Verify payment requests through an established process and known contact information. Do not rely on contact information provided in the suspicious message.

What an invoice scam can look like

Impersonation Scams

Scammers may pretend to be a dean, department chair, supervisor, colleague, or senior university leader.

The message may start with a simple request, such as “Are you available?” or “Can you help me with something quickly?” The scammer may later ask you to purchase gift cards, transfer money, or share sensitive information.

Watch for:

• An unexpected request from someone senior to you
• Messages that ask you to keep the request confidential
• Requests for gift cards or urgent purchases
• Pressure to act before verifying the request

What to do: Do not assume a message is legitimate because it uses the name of someone you know. Verify the request by calling or contacting the person through a known method.

What an impersonation scam can look like

Gift Card and Equipment Giveaway Scams

Some scammers impersonate departments or colleagues and promote free laptops, tablets, gift cards, equipment, or other giveaways.

They may ask recipients to respond using a personal email account instead of their Montclair account. This can move the conversation outside university security systems and make the scam harder to detect.

The scammer may later ask for personal information, payment for “shipping,” or other information to claim the item.

Watch for:

• Unexpected equipment or gift card giveaways
• Requests to move the conversation to a personal email account
• Requests for payment to cover shipping or fees
• Offers that seem too good to be true

What to do: Verify giveaways through the official department or Montclair website. Be cautious if someone asks you to move the conversation away from your university account.

What a giveaway scam can look like

Fake Shared Documents and File Requests

Scammers often send messages claiming someone has shared a document, file, voicemail, or contract with you.

The message may contain a link to a fake Microsoft, Google, Dropbox, or other cloud storage login page.

Watch for:

• A document or file you were not expecting
• Generic notifications with little context
• Login pages with unusual website addresses
• Requests to enter your university password to view a document

What to do: Verify that the sender actually shared the document. Access the service directly instead of using the link in the email.

What a shared document scam can look like

HR, Payroll, and Benefits Scams

Scammers may impersonate Human Resources, Payroll, or Benefits and ask you to update direct deposit information, confirm tax documents, review benefits, or verify personal information.

These scams can be especially convincing during open enrollment or around payroll deadlines.

Watch for:

• Unexpected requests for Social Security or banking information
• Links asking you to log in to update payroll information
• Messages creating urgency around benefits or pay

What to do: Access Workday directly through official university resources rather than using links in unexpected messages.

What a HR scam can look like

Fake Job Offers

Scammers may send fake job opportunities and ask faculty or staff to share them with students. Because the message comes from a trusted university employee, students may assume the job has been verified.

Some scams offer flexible remote jobs, such as research or personal assistant positions. Others may send students a check and ask them to deposit it, buy equipment or gift cards, and send money to someone else.

Watch for:

• Job offers that seem too good to be true
• Requests to deposit a check and send money elsewhere
• Requests to buy gift cards or equipment
• Requests for personal or financial information
• Employers who only communicate through personal email or text

What to do: Verify the job before sharing it with students. All official Montclair jobs are available via Handshake.

What a job phishing scam can look like

Remember: Stop. Verify. Then Act.

When something feels urgent or unusual:

When in Doubt, Report It

Not sure if an email, text, or message is a scam? Report it.

Use the Phish Alert Button (PAB) to report suspicious emails, or forward suspicious messages to phishfiles@montclair.edu for review.

Reporting suspicious messages helps us identify scams and protect the Montclair community.

The Bottom Line

Scammers are getting better at making emails, texts, and websites look legitimate. A familiar name, university logo, or official-looking message does not guarantee that a request is real.