What could be more flattering to a new college grad than spotting an email from a college professor who suddenly has an inside track on a job that seems just perfect?

But not so fast. Unfortunately, you've got to step back these days, no matter how much you need a paycheck, and ask yourself if that professor is really sending you an email. Really? Are you about to make good money? Or lose some?

Crooks who run job scams know how to make anything look convincing. They create the illusion that the check they sent you is real, even though the check shows up long before you work a single day. They gain your trust by impersonating big-name firms or well-known professors. And they know how to use internet or social media ads to promote great – but yes, fake – jobs.

Unfortunately, you might not spot a scam until you've lost hundreds of dollars.

One of the newer twists involves playing up that college connection.

"We hear about job scams all of the time," said Kati Daffan, assistant director for the Federal Trade Commission's marketing practices division.

"But what we've seen recently is that scammers are using tactics to make their fake jobs look even more realistic. It's particularly difficult to spot these in today's world where many people are looking for jobs online, they're applying for jobs online, they may be interviewing online, and then they may be working remotely."

One newer tactic is to make a very targeted, potentially realistic-looking pitch to an individual or group of people, such as the 2024 graduating class of a particular college or university.

"They may pretend to be a professor and reach out to college students," Daffan said. "Or pretend to be associated with an office of the college."

Much sophisticated online research can be done in advance by scammers to say, perhaps, spot the name of a professor of engineering if they're pitching you a job in manufacturing. Or maybe the professor needs help with some research.

Who wouldn't want to imagine that their work was so impressive in college that their professor noticed and now wants to pass along a tip on a job?

University of Michigan, Oakland University see 'job scams'

"The most common job scams that have been reported to us involve scammers impersonating university faculty or legitimate employers, enticing students with fake internships or remote work opportunities," said Wayne Thibodeau, senior director of the Career and Life Design Center at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

Many times, Thibodeau said, one step in the scheme involves sending a check in advance to the new hire to cover initial technology expenses for setting up a home office. The check is counterfeit. The college student or college grad deposits it but the check doesn't bounce until much later, often after some money has been spent or transferred to scammers for some reason. The consumer often ends up being responsible for any money lost in the scam.