Office of the General Counsel

The OGC is responsible for all the legal work arising from the activities of Harvard’s Faculties and departments. Our mission is to render timely and thoughtful advice on the broad range of legal issues that the University, its faculty, and administrators confront on behalf of the University.

Requests for legal assistance for University business should be directed to Jen Stather, Julie Faber, or Javier Guzman. In the event that these people are unavailable and the matter requires immediate attention, please contact any of the other legal professionals in the Office of the General Counsel.

Fraudulent Activity by Persons Posing as Harvard Procurement Staff

(March 1, 2021) There has been an uptick in fraudulent Harvard purchase orders/requests that have been sent to external vendors, often with forged attachments. The purchase orders/requests fraudulently represent that they are coming from “Harvard Procurement” staff and often are inquiring about the purchase of branded marketing items (backpacks, water bottles, etc.) or asking vendors for sensitive tax information. While vendors have been reaching out to Harvard contacts to verify the legitimacy of orders, some vendors have experienced losses as a result of the scheme. 

A copy of the alert is available for review HERE.