With the start of the new semester, job scams are on the rise. Scammers lure you with the promise of high pay and easy work to trick you into clicking links and sending your personal information. Learn how to recognize and report phishing.
Scam alert messages
Beware of these scams!
Buyer beware: email from financial consultant lead-generation service
While this isn't a phishing attempt or outright fraud, it's at best a hidden—and therefore misleading—marketing attempt we want you to be aware of.
April 15, 2026Watch for scams targeting faculty
The scammer starts by asking to discuss your work. Then, once a relationship is established, they try to convince you to “invest” or transfer money. Learn what these scams look like — and what to do if you are targeted.
April 15, 20262/23 Phishing alert: Subject line “Watchtower Notification: Potential Exposure Detected”
We received reports about a impersonation phish concerning Watchtower, a service by 1Password. The phish pretends that an item in your 1Password account has been breached and encourages you to click a fake Watchtower link for more information.
February 23, 2026Beware of scams involving job offers, fake checks
Job scams like this one are on the rise: You respond to an email job offer. Your “employer” sends you a (fraudulent) check that’s too much money, with instructions about how to send back the difference. Take these steps to protect yourself.
September 3, 2025Avoid Workday phishing scams
Now that Workday is here, we expect to be targeted by phishing attacks. We are counting on you to help keep UW secure by detecting and reporting phishing attempts. Brush up on some reminders to help you identify red flags.
July 9, 2025- More Scams posts
Scam email subject lines
UW–Madison staff and students periodically receive malicious messages from @wisc.edu senders. This table contains a list of email Subjects associated with recent fake emails and the approximate date they were identified as scams.
If you’ve recently received an email to your @wisc.edu account and are unsure whether it’s real or a scam, you can check it against this table. If you are still unsure whether the message is legitimate, please contact the Help Desk.
Be suspicious!