ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If you have a UNM email address, you’ll want to beware of scam emails about gift cards and job opportunities.

UNM officials say they’ve gotten reports of people falling for these scams – so how can you spot the scam?

Jeff Gassaway, the university’s Information Security and Privacy Officer, says scammers will go as far as disguising themselves as a professor or someone higher-up at your job, let’s say if you work at the campus.

Often, though, there’s a pattern to these scams.

“Generally, those patterns are apply some type of pressure to the person who is receiving it. So, they feel like there’s a sense of urgency. Whether that’s, ‘oh my gosh, my boss wants me to go out, buy a bunch of Amazon gift cards.’ Or whether that’s, ‘look, this is a $4,500 a week student employment remote work opportunity. But there’s only only two positions.’, he said.”

According to Gassaway, the best thing to do is trying to recognize and report any phishing emails. He says an external warning will indicate an email is coming from outside of UNM.

One UNM student, who sadly fell for the scam, also shares some insight.

“These emails usually sound do real. They can say that I’ve been forwarded an email, that you’ve been qualified for this job and to send you their name and contact. So they sound so real,” she said.

If you come across a phishy email, report it to UNM’s IT Department.