Month: February 2021

 Dear Student,

We have been made aware that students are receiving emails posing as the Financial Aid Department as well as emails advertising student employment opportunities that are not legitimate.  Given this increase in phishing emails, we wanted to provide you with some guidance on how to determine if a job opportunity is legitimate.

If an email appears to be strange in nature, confirm its authenticity before automatically complying with the request.  Emails that appear to be very vague in content and ask you to click on a link or to respond immediately without much detail for the purpose of the email would fit this description.  Even if an email is from a known source, but not someone ordinarily associated with financial aid or student employment (ex: a faculty member) should be questioned.

For student employment opportunities:  Handshake contains up to date information about student employment opportunities for students available directly through Wesleyan.  Jobs posted by Wesleyan University Student Employment on Handshake have been vetted by our office before being made available to students; therefore, it is the best way to search for legitimate job opportunities.  Students are welcome to seek employment outside of Wesleyan but should exercise caution when considering opportunities from other employers, particularly when seeking remote employment.  Students should always research any employer and/or offered job opportunity; if an opportunity sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. You should note that it is possible for a fraudulent email to come from a legitimate Wesleyan email address if the account has been hacked, so job opportunities sent to you from a Wesleyan email address should be researched as you would any other job.

When communicating with an employer, receiving emails from potential employers, or searching for a job, be on the lookout for the following “Red Flag” situations:

·         Makes an offer for a position without ever interacting/interviewing you

·         You receive an email from an employer you have had no interaction with offering you a job or to “make money quickly”

·         Offers a large sum of money for minimal work.  Remember that the Connecticut minimum wage is $12 an hour

·         Offers payment before you do any work or sends you compensation unexpectedly

·         Requests for you to make a payment upfront via transfer/wire money, money order or courier

·         Requests your personal information – social security number, credit card information, bank account number, copies of your license, passport, photograph, or other personal documents

·         Posting lacks all or some of the following information: company name, address, contact information, telephone number, domain email address, etc.

·         Postings with spelling and grammatical errors

·         Employer website without a clear description of the business, contact information, or job descriptions

If you suspect a posting is fraudulent, be sure to proceed with caution.  Do not provide any personal information and do not click on any links. End all communications with the employer immediately and, if Wesleyan University is mentioned in the email, contact the ITS Security group at security@wesleyan.eduASAP for assistance and advice on how to proceed.

You can find additional information regarding student employment on our website and additional information about fraudulent job postings here.  If you have any questions, please reach out to studentemployment@wesleyan.edu.

Sincerely,

Financial Aid Office
Student Employment Office
Jen Duncan, Associate Director of Financial Aid

Claudia Morrow, Associate Director of Financial Aid

Robyn Ewig, Senior Assistant Director of Financial Aid

Allison Soden, Student Employment Coordinator

Ali McFadzen, Department Assistant

Wesleyan University
Office of Financial Aid
237 High Street
Middletown, CT 06459
Tel: (860) 685-2800
Fax: (860) 685-2801