To:          Members of the University Community

From:      Karen Kavanagh

              Executive Vice President for Administrative Affairs

Re:         Recognizing and Protecting Yourself from Email Scams

 

Recent email communications received by Rutgers students, faculty and staff may have originated from scam artists. Included below are tips on recognizing a scam and protecting yourself from becoming involved in a scam purchase on the Internet.

 

Scam artists are well known for using email as a communication tool and for enticing people to make quick buying decisions. Scam emails are carefully worded to make the reader believe that their own organization, in this case Rutgers, is aware of the email solicitation. Scam offers generally are to sell high-demand, brand-name items (such as Dell computers) for a great price. Potential buyers typically are urged to call a toll-free number by a specific time and date to reserve their order. Unfortunately, the buyer's credit card is typically charged immediately. If the product is shipped (in many cases, no product ever arrives), it is often an inferior, alternative product.

 

For the purpose of illustration, the following is an excerpt from a “scam” email message recently received by a group of students and staff at Rutgers :

              Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 10:41:21 GMT

              From: Admin <administration@companyxyz.com>

              Subject: computers      

              Attention All School Staff, Teachers and Students:  News 3/19/04

          

              You Must Respond By 5 P.M. Monday, March 22, 2004

              Through a special arrangement, Company XYZ is offering a limited allotment of BRAND   

              NEW, top of-the-line, name-brand desktop computers at more than 50% off MSRP to all

              Staff Members, Teachers and Students who respond to this message before 5 P.M.,

              Monday, March22, 2004 .

 

              All desktop computers are brand-new packed in their original boxes, and come with a full

              manufacturer's warranty plus a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

 

Rutgers students, faculty and staff are urged to remain aware of possible scams and always use caution when dealing with unsolicited emails. Most suppliers of brand-name commodities and legitimate commercial businesses do not send out mass email advertisements or sales offers that have unreasonably short decision making time frames.

 

When making a personal or business purchase, there are several ways to determine the legitimacy of a business:

• Call the business directly and request to speak with a representative or supervisor. Ask them to send you literature on the product and more information about the business before you make the purchase.
• Contact the Better Business Bureau at http://www.bbb.com/ to verify whether the business is legitimate. If you suspect a work-related scam, please contact the purchasing office on your campus for assistance.
• For guidelines on making purchases for the university, visit the University Procurement Services web site at http://procure.rutgers.edu/ .

 

Recognizing a scam is the best defense for protecting yourself from such activities.

We hope you find this information helpful when making both personal and professional purchasing decisions.