Email help@uw.edu or call (206) 221-5000.
As the holiday season ramps up, so do online scams targeting universities. We’re seeing a notable increase in fraudulent emails, texts, and phone calls aimed at students, faculty, staff, and medical personnel. These attempts can be highly convincing and often mimic supervisors, campus departments, job recruiters, or trusted companies.
Staying alert, especially during a busy season, is one of the best ways to protect your personal information and the University’s systems.
What we’re seeing right now
Across higher education, attackers are using tactics, often designed with AI, to look convincing and legitimate. They lean on two tactics this time of year: urgency and familiarity. If a message pressures you to act quickly or claims to be from someone you know, take an extra moment to verify.
Common examples include:
- Shipping, package, or account alerts: Messages informing you of a missed delivery or urgent account issue that create a sense of urgency and ask you to click a link.
- Giveaway scams: Messages from a donor “moving” and giving away high-value items like pianos, laptops, cameras, guitars, or watches, followed by a request to text a number and pay a shipping fee.
- Gift card scams: Messages that appear to come from a supervisor or colleague asking you to urgently buy digital gift cards for them.
- Fake IT support calls: Imposters claiming to be from IT support and trying to gain access to your device.
- Spoofed leadership emails: Fake messages using look-alike addresses or slightly altered sender names.
- Phony job offers: “Work-from-home,” “research assistant,” and “seasonal” roles offering quick pay and requesting personal or banking information.
How to protect yourself
You can avoid most scams by taking a few simple steps:
- Slow down and verify the sender. If something feels off, even just slightly, double check the sender’s email address or reach out to the sender directly using known contact information.
- Don’t click unexpected links. Hover first to preview the URL or navigate to the site manually.
- Never share passwords, Duo codes, or financial information. UW will never ask you for this information over email or the phone.
- Check for small red flags. Even with the use of AI, scams often contain misspellings, odd phrasing, unfamiliar phone numbers, or unusual requests that can act as warning signs.
What to do if you spot a suspicious message
Report it right away. Fast reporting helps keep our UW community secure and reduces the chance of other huskies being targeted. Never worry about reporting something that turns out to be legitimate.
- Email: help@uw.edu
- Phone: (206) 221-5000
- Forward suspicious emails as attachments: This preserves the technical details our security team needs to investigate the message.
Additional Resources
Phishing scams
Protecting your email
Student employment scams
Gift card scams
Secret shopper job scam