Austin Community College District (ACC) issues a scam warning about fraudulent internship offers being sent directly to college students — including ACC students. The College immediately notified students and employees of the scam.
Students are receiving messages in their email accounts that appear to come from ACC faculty but are delivered through non-ACC email addresses.
The emails tell victims of an opportunity for a remote internship with a weekly stipend. Students who fall victim to the scam then receive a fraudulent check and are asked to purchase supplies from a shell-company vendor using the funds they received. After the victim has incurred the personal expense, they learn from their bank that the check they received is fraudulent.
The college reminds students and employees that all official college emails will always come from an ACC email account. Those receiving such emails or similarly suspicious emails are asked to alert ACC Police immediately at 512-223-1231.
Below are example images ( with highlighted key redflags) of what the scam might look like:
