{
  "id": "2024-04-10-florida-international-university-job-scam-timely-warning",
  "slug": "florida-international-university-job-scam-timely-warning-2024-04-10",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Florida International University",
    "shortName": "FIU",
    "state": "FL",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "FIU Alert",
    "enrollment": 56000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-04-10",
    "type": "scam",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "resolution": "unknown",
    "headline": "Fake job posts with spoofed faculty follow-up checks",
    "headlinePublic": "Fake job posts with spoofed faculty follow-up checks",
    "summary": "FIU Police [issued a timely warning after students and employees were victimized by fraudulent internet job posts](https://police.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/TIMELY-WARNING-April-10-24.pdf) whose spoofed-faculty replies instructed recipients to deposit checks and return funds.",
    "outcome": "Warning instructs victims to contact FIUPD, their bank, and the FTC. Distinct from the June 23 2025 gift-card variant."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Timely Warning dated April 10, 2024",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "TIMELY WARNING - April 10, 2024\n\nThe Florida International University Police Department (FIUPD) and the FIU Division of\nInformation Technology DoIT have received numerous reports that students and employees\nhave been victimized by responding to fraudulent and fictitious employment opportunities\nposted on a variety of internet platforms, not supported by FIU.\n\nThe victims will respond to the offer, and indicate they are interested in the position. They will\nreceive an email response that appears to be from an FIU faculty member; however, an\nadditional email address will accompany the faculty member’s email address such as “via\nsendinblue.com.” The email will ask the victim to provide personal information about\nthemselves such as name, email address, resume, mailing address, phone number, and\nage/gender.\n\nThe victim will be offered the position under the following conditions:\n\n   •   The victim will receive an electronic or physical check and be instructed to deposit the\n       check into his or her personal bank account. They are then instructed to purchase\n       equipment and/or supplies and return the remaining funds to the subject's account. The\n       victim is instructed to send the remaining funds through a number of different electronic\n       money transfer means, such as but not limited to, Cash App, Zelle, Bitcoin, etc.\n\n   •    The victim will then be notified by their bank that the check they deposited is\n       fraudulent. The victim’s attempts to contact the subject will be unsuccessful, and the\n       victim will lose the money sent back to the subject.\n\nImportant information on how to Avoid Falling Victim:\n\n   -   FIU will never ask you for your username, password, or 2FA verification.\n   -   Be cautious if someone you don’t know asks you for personal information.\n   -   Be cautious if someone you don’t know asks you to deposit a check.\n   -   Never wire or send money to strangers based on a check you’ve received.\n   -   Verify the legitimacy of any job offers or prize claims.\n   -   Remember that legitimate sweepstakes don’t require upfront payments.\n   -   Remember that if something looks too good to be true it probably isn’t.\n\nIf you think you are the victim of a fraud:\n\n   -   Contact FIU PD immediately at 305-348-2626.\n   -   Contact your bank immediately.\n   -   Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using their online complaint\n       form.\n\nStay informed and protect yourself from these scams. For more detailed information, visit the\nFTC’s article on spotting, avoiding, and reporting fake check scams.\n\n\nIn compliance with federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and\nCampus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, we are issuing this “Timely Warning Notice” to\nreport an incident that may pose a serious or continuing threat to the campus\ncommunity.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://police.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/TIMELY-WARNING-April-10-24.pdf",
      "sourceDescription": "FIUPD Timely Warning PDF April 10, 2024",
      "annotations": [
        "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."
      ],
      "characterCount": 2844
    }
  ],
  "context": "Official FIUPD timely-warning archive at [police.fiu.edu/crime-awareness-2/timely-warnings](https://police.fiu.edu/crime-awareness-2/timely-warnings/). April 10 2024 product: [TIMELY WARNING PDF](https://police.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/TIMELY-WARNING-April-10-24.pdf).",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Official Clery timely warning for internet-posted job-offer check scams with spoofed-faculty sendinblue replies."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "TIMELY WARNING - April 10, 2024",
      "url": "https://police.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/TIMELY-WARNING-April-10-24.pdf",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-09-14",
      "archiveUrl": null,
      "archiveNotes": "SPN not attempted after 500 flap"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "fiu",
    "scam",
    "2024"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-09-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-14",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}