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Fake job posts with spoofed faculty follow-up checks

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FIU Police issued a timely warning after students and employees were victimized by fraudulent internet job posts whose spoofed-faculty replies instructed recipients to deposit checks and return funds.

Alerts
1
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Florida International University
Public R1 · FL
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~56,000 studentsFIU Alert
Official alert policy
Read when and how FIU says it will use FIU Alert: summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Confirmed wording is transcribed character-for-character from a primary source. Use Verify this quote under each message to open that source in a new tab and compare the text yourself.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatim2844 chars
TIMELY WARNING - April 10, 2024 The Florida International University Police Department (FIUPD) and the FIU Division of Information Technology DoIT have received numerous reports that students and employees have been victimized by responding to fraudulent and fictitious employment opportunities posted on a variety of internet platforms, not supported by FIU. The victims will respond to the offer, and indicate they are interested in the position. They will receive an email response that appears to be from an FIU faculty member; however, an additional email address will accompany the faculty member’s email address such as “via sendinblue.com.” The email will ask the victim to provide personal information about themselves such as name, email address, resume, mailing address, phone number, and age/gender. The victim will be offered the position under the following conditions: • The victim will receive an electronic or physical check and be instructed to deposit the check into his or her personal bank account. They are then instructed to purchase equipment and/or supplies and return the remaining funds to the subject's account. The victim is instructed to send the remaining funds through a number of different electronic money transfer means, such as but not limited to, Cash App, Zelle, Bitcoin, etc. • The victim will then be notified by their bank that the check they deposited is fraudulent. The victim’s attempts to contact the subject will be unsuccessful, and the victim will lose the money sent back to the subject. Important information on how to Avoid Falling Victim: - FIU will never ask you for your username, password, or 2FA verification. - Be cautious if someone you don’t know asks you for personal information. - Be cautious if someone you don’t know asks you to deposit a check. - Never wire or send money to strangers based on a check you’ve received. - Verify the legitimacy of any job offers or prize claims. - Remember that legitimate sweepstakes don’t require upfront payments. - Remember that if something looks too good to be true it probably isn’t. If you think you are the victim of a fraud: - Contact FIU PD immediately at 305-348-2626. - Contact your bank immediately. - Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using their online complaint form. Stay informed and protect yourself from these scams. For more detailed information, visit the FTC’s article on spotting, avoiding, and reporting fake check scams. In compliance with federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, we are issuing this “Timely Warning Notice” to report an incident that may pose a serious or continuing threat to the campus community.
Verify this quote
FIUPD Timely Warning PDF April 10, 2024police.fiu.edufind archived copies
Dual pdftotext-layout + second-blind. Layout-preserving body through the Clery paragraph; address letterhead omitted. sha256 ef9daa5b64ed025bbc52a75efb9069f09f285294d5dab6f8e652948d6967414c. Curly quotes/apostrophes preserved.
Distinct from 2025-06-23-florida-international-university-spoofed-faculty-job-scam (gift-card variant) and from 2026-04-10 WhatsApp bomb-threat.
Message elements

How the first alert is built

To check this alert, SuperGrok Heavy 4.5 (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

TIMELY WARNING - April 10, 2024 The Florida International University Police Department (FIUPD) and the FIU Division of Information Technology DoIT have received numerous reports that students and employees have been victimized by responding to fraudulent and fictitious employment opportunities posted on a variety of internet platforms, not supported by FIU. The victims will respond to the offer, and indicate they are interested in the position. They will receive an email response that appears to be from an FIU faculty member; however, an additional email address will accompany the faculty member’s email address such as “via sendinblue.com.” The email will ask the victim to provide personal information about themselves such as name, email address, resume, mailing address, phone number, and age/gender. The victim will be offered the position under the following conditions: • The victim will receive an electronic or physical check and be instructed to deposit the check into his or her personal bank account. They are then instructed to purchase equipment and/or supplies and return the remaining funds to the subject's account. The victim is instructed to send the remaining funds through a number of different electronic money transfer means, such as but not limited to, Cash App, Zelle, Bitcoin, etc. • The victim will then be notified by their bank that the check they deposited is fraudulent. The victim’s attempts to contact the subject will be unsuccessful, and the victim will lose the money sent back to the subject. Important information on how to Avoid Falling Victim: - FIU will never ask you for your username, password, or 2FA verification. - Be cautious if someone you don’t know asks you for personal information. - Be cautious if someone you don’t know asks you to deposit a check. - Never wire or send money to strangers based on a check you’ve received. - Verify the legitimacy of any job offers or prize claims. - Remember that legitimate sweepstakes don’t require upfront payments. - Remember that if something looks too good to be true it probably isn’t. If you think you are the victim of a fraud: - Contact FIU PD immediately at 305-348-2626. - Contact your bank immediately. - Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using their online complaint form. Stay informed and protect yourself from these scams. For more detailed information, visit the FTC’s article on spotting, avoiding, and reporting fake check scams. In compliance with federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, we are issuing this “Timely Warning Notice” to report an incident that may pose a serious or continuing threat to the campus community.

  • Sourcepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Source is present at 25/25. The lead names FIUPD and the FIU Division of Information Technology DoIT, and the close says we are issuing this Timely Warning Notice.

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Opening names the Florida International University Police Department (FIUPD) and the FIU Division of Information Technology DoIT as issuers.
    2. present: FIUPD in the first sentence identifies campus police as the sending authority.
    3. present: Dual byline of FIUPD and DoIT tells readers which campus units issued the timely warning.
    4. present: Florida International University Police Department is spelled out as the police originator.
    5. present: FIU Division of Information Technology DoIT is named with police as a co-source.
    6. present: We are issuing this Timely Warning Notice is FIU speaking after FIUPD and DoIT are named.
    7. present: The parenthetical FIUPD brands the police department on the warning.
    8. present: FIUPD and DoIT have received numerous reports, naming both offices as the responding sources.
    9. present: Florida International University in the police department title identifies the campus sender.
    10. present: Information Technology DoIT is a named campus division co-issuing with police.
    11. present: Campus police FIUPD is the first named authority in the lead paragraph.
    12. present: FIUPD and DoIT together satisfy who is sending this Clery warning.
    13. present: The Clery we plus the named FIUPD and DoIT identify the issuing university.
    14. present: FIU PD at 305-348-2626 in the contact block also identifies the police sender.
    15. present: Both the police department and the Division of Information Technology are written in full.
    16. present: FIUPD is the police acronym that signatures this timely warning.
    17. present: DoIT is named as the campus technology partner on the byline with FIUPD.
    18. present: The Florida International University Police Department clause is the source identification.
    19. present: FIU as the institution and FIUPD as police identify who is warning the community.
    20. present: A Jeanne Clery timely warning from named FIU police and DoIT is an official source frame.
    21. present: FIUPD and the FIU Division of Information Technology appear in full before the scam narrative.
    22. present: FIUPD is the police department speaking, with DoIT named as the IT partner.
    23. present: Sending authority is FIU Police (FIUPD) jointly with DoIT.
    24. present: Named campus police and IT division are the who of this warning.
    25. present: FIUPD, DoIT, and we are issuing this Timely Warning Notice identify police, IT, and the university.
  • Hazardpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Hazard is present at 25/25. Fraudulent and fictitious employment opportunities, spoofed faculty replies, and fraudulent checks name a specific job scam rather than a generic incident.

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Fraudulent and fictitious employment opportunities are the specific threat, not a generic incident.
    2. present: Fake job posts that push victims to deposit a check and return leftover funds name a check scam.
    3. present: Spoofed faculty replies tagged via sendinblue.com are the named job-fraud method.
    4. present: The check they deposited is fraudulent names fraudulent checks as the hazard type.
    5. present: Fictitious employment opportunities posted online are a specific named threat.
    6. present: Fake check scams, the FTC article topic, restates the same specific fraud.
    7. present: Electronic or physical checks that must be deposited, then leftover funds returned, is the scheme named.
    8. present: Fraudulent internet job offers that harvest name, resume, mailing address, phone, and age or gender are the threat.
    9. present: Fraudulent and fictitious employment opportunities is more specific than emergency or situation.
    10. present: Job bait plus a later notice that the deposited check is fraudulent is the hazard sequence.
    11. present: Employment offers that require depositing a check and remitting leftover funds name a fake-check hazard.
    12. present: Fake check scams in the closing FTC line matches the hazard described in the bullets.
    13. present: Fictitious employment opportunities is a specific threat name, not a vague incident.
    14. present: Spoofed FIU faculty email with an extra via sendinblue.com address is the lure described.
    15. present: The lead names fraudulent job posts rather than a generic emergency.
    16. present: An electronic or physical check that later proves fraudulent is the named fraud type.
    17. present: Fraudulent employment opportunities on unsupported internet platforms is the specific hazard.
    18. present: Fake faculty-branded job emails that collect personal data and push bad checks are the threat.
    19. present: Check-cashing job scam with Bitcoin or Zelle remittance is specifically described.
    20. present: Fictitious job offers followed by a fraudulent check is the hazard pair.
    21. present: Employment scam using spoofed faculty sendinblue mail is the what of the warning.
    22. present: The body names fraudulent employment and fake checks rather than a generic emergency.
    23. present: Fake job posts on unofficial internet sites are the initiating hazard.
    24. present: Bad checks, spoofed faculty, and job bait constitute a specific fraud hazard.
    25. present: Fraudulent fictitious employment and fraudulent checks specify the threat.
  • Locationabsent12/25

    Final assessment

    Location is present at 12/25. Majority found no building, hall, street, or on-campus scene, while twelve passes treated internet platforms or campus community as a where.

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. absent: No building, hall, street, or on-campus point is given, and internet platforms are not a mapped place.
    2. absent: Posted on a variety of internet platforms describes a digital channel, not a campus building or street.
    3. present: Internet platforms not supported by FIU is where the fictitious jobs are posted, a named venue.
    4. absent: Campus community in the Clery close names the audience, not a building or street of the fraud.
    5. present: The Clery sentence frames a threat to the campus community, which includes the campus as where.
    6. absent: sendinblue.com is an email-relay tag in the lure, not a hall or address for an incident.
    7. absent: Cash App, Zelle, and Bitcoin are payment rails, not locations.
    8. present: A variety of internet platforms is the stated posting location for the fake jobs.
    9. absent: No on campus, the area, or named building appears as an incident site.
    10. present: Platforms not supported by FIU locates the offers off official FIU channels, a where contrast.
    11. absent: An FIU faculty member is a spoofed identity, not a mapped campus site.
    12. present: Campus community in the closing paragraph is a campus location cue under the rubric list.
    13. absent: Variety of internet platforms is too generic to count as a building, street, or campus area.
    14. present: FIU-linked faculty email plus campus community together put the fraud in the FIU setting.
    15. absent: Mailing address is personal data the scammer requests, not the scene of a crime.
    16. present: Threat to the campus community uses community on campus as the geographic frame.
    17. absent: Prize claims and sweepstakes are extra scam types, not places.
    18. present: Internet platforms is where victims first encounter the fictitious offers.
    19. absent: 305-348-2626 is a phone number for reporting, not a street or building of the incident.
    20. present: Not supported by FIU tells readers the posts sit outside official FIU platforms, a location contrast.
    21. present: Campus community is the place-word in the Clery closing that the rubric treats as campus.
    22. absent: FIU in the spoofed faculty address is an identity theft hook, not a building or block.
    23. present: Posted on internet platforms is the where of the fraudulent employment ads.
    24. absent: No hall, street, address, or cardinal campus area is offered as an event site.
    25. present: Internet platforms not supported by FIU plus campus community are the only where cues, and this pass counts them.
  • Guidancepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Guidance is present at 25/25. Avoid Falling Victim bullets tell readers not to send money, and victims should contact FIUPD, their bank, and the FTC.

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: Contact FIU PD immediately at 305-348-2626 is a call-the-police instruction to recipients.
    2. present: Never wire or send money to strangers based on a check you have received is protective action.
    3. present: Be cautious if someone you do not know asks you to deposit a check is second-person guidance.
    4. present: Verify the legitimacy of any job offers or prize claims tells readers to check before they act.
    5. present: FIU will never ask you for your username, password, or 2FA verification is a withhold-credentials rule.
    6. present: Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission using their online complaint form is a how-to.
    7. present: Stay informed and protect yourself from these scams is an explicit protect-yourself directive.
    8. present: If you think you are the victim of a fraud, contact FIU PD, your bank, and the FTC.
    9. present: Be cautious if someone you do not know asks you for personal information is avoidance guidance.
    10. present: Never wire or send money is a do-not-comply protective action for recipients.
    11. present: Avoid Falling Victim introduces seven bullets of what readers should do or refuse.
    12. present: Remember that legitimate sweepstakes do not require upfront payments is a do-not-pay rule.
    13. present: Visit the FTC article on spotting, avoiding, and reporting fake check scams is a go-read instruction.
    14. present: The Avoid Falling Victim list is recipient guidance, not a status report about responders.
    15. present: Recipients are told never to wire money to strangers on the strength of a received check.
    16. present: Contact your bank immediately is a protective financial step for the reader.
    17. present: If something looks too good to be true it probably is not, a skepticism instruction.
    18. present: Do not give username, password, or 2FA, because FIU will never ask, is withhold guidance.
    19. present: Three if-victim steps (police, bank, FTC) tell readers what to do after suspected fraud.
    20. present: Be cautious about depositing a check for someone unknown is direct advice to the reader.
    21. present: Verify job offers before you respond is a check-first instruction.
    22. present: Contact FIU PD, contact your bank, and report to the FTC are three recipient actions.
    23. present: How to Avoid Falling Victim plus seven bullets is a labeled protective-action list.
    24. present: Never send money to strangers is the core protective do not.
    25. present: Call 305-348-2626, call the bank, and file an FTC complaint are the action path.
  • Timepresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Time is present at 25/25. TIMELY WARNING April 10, 2024 is a date, and contact FIU PD immediately plus contact your bank immediately use immediately.

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: TIMELY WARNING April 10, 2024 puts a calendar date on the notice.
    2. present: April 10, 2024 is an explicit date in the header, which the Time rubric counts.
    3. present: Contact FIU PD immediately uses immediately, a recency word listed in the rubric.
    4. present: The first line dates the warning as April 10, 2024.
    5. present: Contact your bank immediately repeats immediately as a when-to-act cue.
    6. present: April 10, 2024 is the dated timely-warning title.
    7. present: The header date April 10, 2024 satisfies Time without needing a clock hour.
    8. present: Immediately appears in both police and bank contact lines, a Time example word.
    9. present: April 10, 2024 is printed at the top as the when of this notice.
    10. present: TIMELY WARNING April 10, 2024 opens with a full calendar date.
    11. present: The notice is dated April 10, 2024 in the subject-style first line.
    12. present: April 10, 2024 is an unambiguous date stamp on the warning.
    13. present: Contact immediately, used twice, is the rubric's immediately example.
    14. present: First-line date April 10, 2024 is Time even if no clock is given.
    15. present: Dated April 10, 2024 at the top of the verbatim text.
    16. present: April 10, 2024 in the header is a calendar when.
    17. present: Immediately is the time word on both police and bank callbacks.
    18. present: The warning is dated April 10, 2024 before the narrative starts.
    19. present: April 10, 2024 plus immediately supply a date and an urgency cue.
    20. present: Header date April 10, 2024 matches the rubric example of a date.
    21. present: April 10, 2024 is the only calendar date and it is enough for Time.
    22. present: Immediately under If you think you are the victim is a rubric time word.
    23. present: TIMELY WARNING April 10, 2024 is a dated issuance line.
    24. present: The April 10, 2024 title date is Time under the date example.
    25. present: Date April 10, 2024 and immediately each independently satisfy Time.
  • Impactpresent25/25

    Final assessment

    Impact is present at 25/25. The victim will lose the money and victimized students and employees state financial harm.

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

    See all 25 individual reads
    1. present: The victim will lose the money sent back to the subject states the financial harm.
    2. present: Lose the money is the stated consequence after the bank flags the check as fraudulent.
    3. present: Students and employees have been victimized, which reports realized harm from the scam.
    4. present: Personal funds remitted through Cash App, Zelle, or Bitcoin are then lost when the check bounces.
    5. present: Victimized plus lose the money together state what the hazard does to people financially.
    6. present: After the bank says the check is bad, attempts to reach the subject fail and the money is gone.
    7. present: Lose the money sent back to the subject is an explicit outcome clause.
    8. present: Serious or continuing threat to the campus community is severity language attached to the scam.
    9. present: Numerous reports that people have been victimized convey that the scam has already caused harm.
    10. present: The victim will lose the money is the consequence after unsuccessful contact with the subject.
    11. present: Bank reversal of a fraudulent check plus money already sent out is property loss.
    12. present: The remaining funds returned to the subject's account are lost to the victim.
    13. present: Victims cannot recover the transferred funds once the check is exposed as fake.
    14. present: Victimized students and employees is impact language in the opening reports clause.
    15. present: Lose the money sent back is the harm the warning exists to prevent.
    16. present: A bounced check leaves the victim short the money already transferred out.
    17. present: Serious or continuing threat plus lost remitted funds state severity and consequence.
    18. present: Students and employees have been victimized reports impact already occurring.
    19. present: Remaining funds sent to the subject are lost when the deposited check is reversed.
    20. present: Lose the money is the stated end state for anyone who remits the leftover funds.
    21. present: Fraudulent deposited checks and lost remittances describe harm to the victim's property.
    22. present: The victim will lose the money is a clear consequence after the check is exposed.
    23. present: Victimized in the lead and lose the money in the second bullet both state impact.
    24. present: Continuing threat language plus lost funds conveys severity and consequence.
    25. present: Victimized plus lose the money state what the scam does to people financially.

Coded by SuperGrok Heavy 4.5

Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

Official FIUPD timely-warning archive at police.fiu.edu/crime-awareness-2/timely-warnings. April 10 2024 product: TIMELY WARNING PDF.
Analysis

Key Findings

Official Clery timely warning for internet-posted job-offer check scams with spoofed-faculty sendinblue replies.
Outcome
Warning instructs victims to contact FIUPD, their bank, and the FTC. Distinct from the June 23 2025 gift-card variant.
Provenance

Sources

Every claim on this page is meant to be checkable. Open the links below (and the Verify this quote control under each confirmed alert) to read the original university, news, or archive page yourself. Hostnames are shown so you can see where you are going; archived copies survive when live pages move or disappear. See also our methodology.

  1. Official
    TIMELY WARNING - April 10, 2024
    police.fiu.edu
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Florida International University: Fake job posts with spoofed faculty follow-up checks." Incident of April 10, 2024. Added September 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/florida-international-university-job-scam-timely-warning-2024-04-10/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
fiuscam2024
Added September 2026Updated September 2026Via ingestion