{"id":1530,"date":"2026-03-19T11:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/?p=1530"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:08:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:08:44","slug":"submission-remote-personal-assistant-application","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/2026\/03\/19\/submission-remote-personal-assistant-application\/","title":{"rendered":"Submission: Remote Personal Assistant Application"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 data-section-id=\"y6vvab\" data-start=\"377\" data-end=\"410\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/290\/2026\/03\/submission-2.png\" alt=\"The image is a fake job listing from ÌÇÐÄvlog for a remote part-time administrative assistant position, detailing the job type, compensation, schedule, responsibilities, and application process.\" width=\"636\" height=\"769\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"y6vvab\" data-start=\"377\" data-end=\"410\">What This Email Looks Like<\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"411\" data-end=\"683\">\n<li data-section-id=\"1cf5f9j\" data-start=\"411\" data-end=\"476\"><strong data-start=\"413\" data-end=\"429\">Sender Name:<\/strong> \u201cMONTCLAIR Career Advising\u201d (external sender)<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"18xrl7e\" data-start=\"477\" data-end=\"557\"><strong data-start=\"479\" data-end=\"505\">Subject Line Examples:<\/strong> \u201cSubmission: Remote Personal Assistant Application\u201d<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"obglrn\" data-start=\"558\" data-end=\"602\"><strong data-start=\"560\" data-end=\"575\">Email Body:<\/strong> Blank or minimal content<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1br1l5t\" data-start=\"603\" data-end=\"683\"><strong data-start=\"605\" data-end=\"620\">Attachment:<\/strong> <em data-start=\"621\" data-end=\"661\">Montclair_Part_Time_Opportunities.dot<\/em> (Microsoft Word file)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"685\" data-end=\"794\">The attachment claims to offer a flexible, high-paying remote job and encourages recipients to apply quickly.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"e0fqsf\" data-start=\"801\" data-end=\"844\">Why This Email Might Look Legitimate<\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"845\" data-end=\"1157\">\n<li data-section-id=\"1gk3eg0\" data-start=\"845\" data-end=\"897\">Uses the university name and branding language<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"kzuqtr\" data-start=\"898\" data-end=\"949\">Appears to come from a career advising office<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"myemud\" data-start=\"950\" data-end=\"1025\">Promotes a flexible, work-from-home job, which is common for students<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"lslmy\" data-start=\"1026\" data-end=\"1092\">Lists realistic-sounding responsibilities and qualifications<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"k42pv2\" data-start=\"1093\" data-end=\"1157\">Includes a<strong data-start=\"1106\" data-end=\"1137\"> professional-looking format<\/strong> inside the document<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1159\" data-end=\"1245\">These details are designed to lower your guard and make the opportunity seem credible.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"16k0381\" data-start=\"1252\" data-end=\"1283\">How We Know It\u2019s a Phish<\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"1284\" data-end=\"1960\">\n<li data-section-id=\"fiqsiq\" data-start=\"1284\" data-end=\"1368\"><strong data-start=\"1286\" data-end=\"1306\">External sender:<\/strong> The email is not coming from an official Montclair account<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"isl3wx\" data-start=\"1369\" data-end=\"1465\"><strong data-start=\"1371\" data-end=\"1392\">Blank email body:<\/strong> Legitimate departments don\u2019t send empty messages with only attachments<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1pc9roh\" data-start=\"1466\" data-end=\"1572\"><strong data-start=\"1468\" data-end=\"1506\">Suspicious attachment (.dot file):<\/strong> This is a Word template file type often used to deliver malware<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1in9r0v\" data-start=\"1573\" data-end=\"1657\"><strong data-start=\"1575\" data-end=\"1603\">Too-good-to-be-true pay:<\/strong> $600\/week for minimal hours is a common scam tactic<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1w2eu3r\" data-start=\"1658\" data-end=\"1754\"><strong data-start=\"1660\" data-end=\"1700\">Requests off-platform communication:<\/strong> Asking you to email a resume to an external address<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1wd77io\" data-start=\"1755\" data-end=\"1854\"><strong data-start=\"1757\" data-end=\"1794\">\u201cUse an alternate email address\u201d:<\/strong> A major red flag\u2014legitimate employers do not require this<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"w1rtsb\" data-start=\"1855\" data-end=\"1960\"><strong data-start=\"1857\" data-end=\"1886\">Dead or suspicious links:<\/strong> The \u201cClick Here to Apply\u201d link does not lead to a valid university page<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1hh13fk\" data-start=\"1967\" data-end=\"2031\">What Happens If You Click the Link or Open the Attachment<\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"2032\" data-end=\"2375\">\n<li data-section-id=\"1jg333x\" data-start=\"2032\" data-end=\"2103\"><strong data-start=\"2034\" data-end=\"2064\">Malware could be installed<\/strong> on your device through the Word file<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1ttloxd\" data-start=\"2104\" data-end=\"2197\">You may be prompted to enable macros, which can give attackers control of your system<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"142p62f\" data-start=\"2198\" data-end=\"2304\">Your personal information (resume, contact details) could be <strong data-start=\"2261\" data-end=\"2302\">harvested for scams or identity theft<\/strong><\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1m6rva7\" data-start=\"2305\" data-end=\"2375\">Attackers may follow up to request <strong data-start=\"2342\" data-end=\"2373\">banking details or payments<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2377\" data-end=\"2448\">Even if the link appears broken, the file itself may still pose a risk.<\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1a8hm2w\" data-start=\"2455\" data-end=\"2479\">What You Should Do<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li data-section-id=\"1g6bdec\" data-start=\"2480\" data-end=\"2533\"><strong data-start=\"2482\" data-end=\"2497\">Do not open<\/strong> the attachment or click any links<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1x36rze\" data-start=\"2571\" data-end=\"2634\"><strong data-start=\"2573\" data-end=\"2621\">Report it using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/information-technology\/security\/pab\/\">Phish Alert Button (PAB)<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1x36rze\" data-start=\"2571\" data-end=\"2634\"><strong>Remember:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>IT will never ask for your password or Duo codes<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1dornol\" data-start=\"2816\" data-end=\"2898\">Legitimate campus jobs will not require you to use a personal email to apply<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1dornol\" data-start=\"2816\" data-end=\"2898\">All Montclair jobs can be found on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/career-services\/handshake\/\">Handshake<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Additional Notes:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Remember<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0Information Technology will never text you. We will also never request your password or Duo codes,\u00a0<strong>ever<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Information Technology will\u00a0<strong data-start=\"1865\" data-end=\"1872\">not<\/strong>\u00a0ask you to verify accounts or submit passwords through unofficial forms or unexpected email links.<\/li>\n<li>Do you think you\u2019ve fallen for a scam? Did you share personal information? Downloaded malicious content? Please contact the IT Service Desk at\u00a0<a href=\"tel:973-655-7971\" class=\"\"><span class=\"a11y-phone-number initialized\" aria-label=\"9 7 3 6 5 5 79 71 \">973-655-7971<\/span><\/a>\u00a0option 1 or email\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:itservicedesk@montclair.edu\">itservicedesk@montclair.edu<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Use the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/information-technology\/security\/pab\/\">Knowbe4 Phish Alert Button (PAB)<\/a>\u00a0to report malicious emails directly to the Information Security team for review. If you are not using the Gmail client please forward the email to\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:phishfiles@montclair.edu\">phishfiles@montclair.edu<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Always use the \u201chover over\u201d technique to check web links before clicking! For more security tips please visit our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/information-technology\/security\/security-tips\/\">Security Tips<\/a>\u00a0page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What This Email Looks Like Sender Name: \u201cMONTCLAIR Career Advising\u201d (external sender) Subject Line Examples: \u201cSubmission: Remote Personal Assistant Application\u201d Email Body: Blank or minimal content Attachment: Montclair_Part_Time_Opportunities.dot (Microsoft Word file) The attachment claims to offer a flexible, high-paying remote job and encourages recipients to apply quickly. Why This Email Might Look Legitimate Uses the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":1532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-phishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/349"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1530"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1535,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1530\/revisions\/1535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}