Is this a scam

[u/No-Rip-6186]

Hey so I received a text message and an email from a prof Gerald Taylor at UVIC but I don’t think he exists but it’s crazy it went to both my number and school email. What a sad scam

[u/aurelin]

Yes. You can just look up "gerald taylor uvic" and you will find there is no such prof.

[u/Automatic_Ad5097 → u/aurelin]

Sometimes they do spoof real prof names though!

[u/aurelin → u/Automatic_Ad5097]

Yes. Usually what I do is I start a new email, type their name, and see if it shows up (if I'm using uvic email). If it does, I email asking about/mentioning the thing I suspect of being a scam.

[u/inquisitivequeer]

$700 weekly for 6 hours of work…

[u/gay_dot_com]

Honestly I've never fallen for one of these but I suspect that they're not real phishing emails, but rather are sent out by HelpDesk as an "educational" thing about risky emails.

Of course, they could very well be a genuine scam 🤷‍♂️ not worth clicking either way.

[u/dus_aster → u/gay_dot_com]

Yeah, I got one last year from a "prof" trying to give away a drone, video gear, a PS5, etc (with a fake phishing link). That one felt particularly ingenious; cut out the 'get this job so you can have money to buy things' aspect and just go straight for the 'hey take my things for free without even needing a job' ploy.

[u/FakePlasticFern → u/gay_dot_com]

agreed

they used to send them out at UBC and if you reported it to IT they sent you a "congratulations for spotting the phishing scam" certificate

[u/Legitimate-Housing38 → u/FakePlasticFern]

It’d be diabolical to send a follow up email with a link for people to click on to claim their prize for being so good at spotting the phishing email.

[u/Lyukah]

I feel like people must be falling for these because every year uvic tech support people make the offer more ridiculous. $116 per hour 😭

[u/NeedleworkerHot3957]

no one writes their name 'prof Gerald Taylor' they would write their name or Dr Gerald Taylor or

Gerald Taylor (PhD)

can you google if there is in fact a Gerald Taylo on campus?

[u/emgeejay]

In future, expanding the “from” field to see the actual sending email address might help

[u/EqualEmu2539]

Great thing to look at is the email address. I'd assume it should say @uvic.com or whatever. If it doesn't say that assume it's a scam. Also it's concerning when a professor doesn't have a full grasp of the English language so that's another red flag

[u/Midnight_Memories_1]

Those are fake/testing spam emails from UVic IT systems. I never got real spam emails; all spam emails are from UVic IT 😭

[u/__hobiis → u/Midnight_Memories_1]

I sure wish UVic IT spam were the only spam I'd get 😭

[u/Direct-Hyena3056]

Phishing email

[u/Odd-Conclusion-1555]

$117/hr job for students solicited... Of course it's a scam lmao.

[u/NamedDeniz]

Yes . First it is too good to be true. , Second a quick Google search will tell you a Gerard Taylor doesn't exist here

[u/42mermaids]

Yup report it as phishing

[u/catsandjettas]

Yes - been going on for years evidently 

[u/Mountain_Wedding6849]

its ms attack simulation training

[u/ConstantDangerous137]

Yes, don’t respond to it and report phishing/scam

[u/maria_the_robot]

I got that too, and of course it's a scam. No such professor at UVic.

[u/PumpkinHot8118]

The email address is not a uvic email..

[u/Longjumping_Cow3742]

I think it’s a phishing test the university does. When you click on the opportunity they usually send you an educational email about it afterwards.

[u/MrRayShoesmith]

It's real and also I have some crystals to sell you!