Scammers Hijack US University Emails

Proofpoint uncovered a Nigerian advance fee fraud campaign hijacking.edu email accounts to target US college students. Attackers phish credentials, then send fake job offers from compromised accounts. Victims deposit fake $1,000 checks, keep half, and buy gift cards with the rest; banks reverse the deposit, leaving victims $500 short. Proofpoint traced the operation to Nigeria via IP logging.