Calvin students have recently been the targets of phishing and other internet scams.

The Calvin HelpDesk sent out an email  on Tues. Oct 10 warning students that they had seen an increase in successful phishing attacks in the last 24 hours.

According to the TechTarget webpage, phishing is “a form of fraud in which the attacker tries to learn information such as login credentials or account information by masquerading as a reputable entity or person in email, IM or other communication channels.”

Calvin students have received an email with the following text:

“The Universities recruiting department has selected you for an on-campus offer. Please see attached details for more details and how to Apply.”

This email came from a calvin.edu address. The HelpDesk reminded students in their email that even if an email comes from a calvin.edu address does not mean it is official or should be trusted.

Students who receive phishing emails can forward them to [email protected].

Students are also targeted through job search sites. In order to avoid this, it is important to be able to recognize the red flags.

Calvin senior Abby Denton was recently contacted by a scammer who offered her a job helping set up a wheelchair for her son. The scammer probably got Denton’s number from her profile on Care.com, a platform for finding babysitters. There is also easy access to that kind of information on Facebook, Instagram or even a simple Google search.

Denton was first contacted over text. Although scams can come in many forms, phone or email often keep the scammer anonymous. The scammer explained that her husband had recently died and her son had broken his leg. She and her son were moving from Florida to restart their lives.

The scammer sent Denton a check for around $2,000 to prepare the wheelchair for their arrival. Denton deposited the check at her bank but had begun to become suspicious. However, she felt sympathetic and gave the woman the benefit of the doubt.

Next, the scammer asked Denton to transfer the money to purchase the wheelchair. When Denton told her she would after the check went through, the scammer insisted that it was urgent. So Denton withdrew $2,000 of her own money to deposit into the seller’s account. The bank teller was suspicious about the transfer and determined that it was indeed a scam.

This type of scam is common, according to James Hop, professor and chair of entrepreneurship and franchise management at Northwood University in Midland, Mich.

“[If someone] wants you to transfer money in order to make something happen that you haven’t initiated, a red flag should go up immediately,” Hop said.

The scammers will often send an invalid check knowing it will bounce. Between the deposit and notification of its fraudulence, scammers will persuade their target to transfer money to another account.

“[When] people want information that I know to be personal, confidential, and, in my mind, doesn’t seem like something they would need to make a transfer,” Hop says it should be a red flag.

Today, the internet allows for remote scamming where someone in another country can use a social security number, driver’s license number or bank account number to take your money.

Hop recalls a time when his mother-in-law was contacted and told that her grandson was in jail and she must pay his bail with iTunes gift cards. As ridiculous as this seems, the scammer used her grandson’s name, found on the internet, to convince her the request was legitimate.

Scammers will often target young people and the elderly. For the elderly, contacting over the computer or with newer technology can often be confusing. Younger people, such as college students, often lack the experience to catch these red flags. Without understanding the common techniques and forms of scamming, it is easy to be pulled into these types of scams. However, with some general knowledge and wariness, scammers can be avoided.

Contributions by Emily Joy Stroble.