Phishing Email Impersonating Housing (subjects vary)

Date Sent

Description

A threat actor impersonates U-M Housing in phishing emails to trick recipients into making payments to a financial account controlled by the threat actor, or divulging sensitive personal information that can be used for identity theft or financial fraud. The phishing email may include convincingly formatted bills, receipts, or representations of other housing information. See How This Scam Works and the examples section below for more details.

See also: Housing Scams. 

The Best Ways to Protect Yourself from this Scam:

  • Legitimate housing contracts would always be communicated through the Michigan Housing Portal and payments will always be processed through Wolverine Access. See How We Will Contact You on the U-M Housing site for details on how Housing contacts students.
  • Ask yourself if it makes sense that you would receive email from U-M Housing. If not, report the email as phishing and delete it.
  • Inspect the From field of the email. These phishing emails end in @gmail.com, not @umich.edu.
  • Refer to known, trustworthy, sites such as U-M Housing before acting on an email. When in doubt, navigate to the website of the organization and contact them using the email or phone number provided on their site, not the email or phone number in the phishing email.

How This Scam Works

Threat actor uses many fraudulent housing email addresses. 

The phishing emails use fake housing addresses that can be spotted by fully checking the From field in the email. The addresses may contain words that appear to represent a U-M unit, such as "housing," or to be part of a legitimate U-M address such as "umich.edu," but upon inspection, are not actual "@umich.edu" addresses.

Known examples of these fake addresses include:

 

Subject lines refer to fake housing opportunities or assignments.

Subject lines for these phishing emails vary, but generally refer to a housing assignment or opportunity, or a roommate assignment.

Examples of known subject lines in these phishing emails include:

  • APARTMENT ASSIGNMENT
  • APARTMENT DESIGNATION
  • APARTMENT ENROLLMENT
  • CAMPUS APARTMENT ALLOTMENT
  • CAMPUS APARTMENT APPLICATION
  • Housing Application – University of Michigan
  • Housing Application - University of Michigan
  • Housing Application Process Update - University of Michigan
  • Housing Reservation - Munger Campus Residence
  • Lawyers Club Housing - eBill Statement
  • Lawyers Club Housing - Process Update
  • LAWYERS CLUB HOUSING INNFORMATION
  • ROOM ASSIGNMENT
  • Room Selection Process Update - University of Michigan
  • Roommate Group Assignment - West Quadrangle Housing
  • Roommate Group Request Approval
  • South Quadrangle Housing - E-Statement Access
  • U-M Housing Assignment Information
  • West Quadrangle Housing - University of Michigan

 

Examples of this Phishing Scam

Here are two actual examples of the email members of the U-M community reported:

Phishing Email or Site Screenshot
Image of a fake billing form for housing and a meal plan. The fake bill contains some elements of real housing information in an attempt to trick recipients.
Image of fake housing application email. This fake asks the recipient for their UMID number and personal information.

Some U-M community members reported receiving this email. It is fraudulent or malicious. Do not respond, click any link in it, or provide personal information or money. See Phishing & Scams for more tips. If you need help, contact the ITS Service Center.