How to avoid common student scams!

1) Phishing

Phishing emails/text are scams used by criminals to trick you into giving away personal information. These can take many different forms and will often be designed to look like they’ve come from an official source, such as PayPal, your bank, Student Finance, HM Revenue and Customs or even the University. Other common scams include telling you that your bank account is at risk or that you have a refund or unexpected windfall.

How can you tell if an email/text is a scam?

Some common things to look out for include:

• Unexpected communication
• Impersonal greetings
• Probing questions
• Urgent warnings
• Bad spelling and formatting
• Incorrect URLs or email addresses
• Threats
• Password requests

What can you do?

• We recommend that you always treat emails/texts with a degree of caution – especially when they ask for personal information and look like they come from an official source.
• If you receive a suspect email/text, do not open any file attachments. If you have concerns, contact the sender directly via trusted channels such as the organisation’s official website, or their customer service line.
• Beware of links in emails/texts. If you see a link in a suspicious email/text message do not click on it.
• Remember, legitimate companies will never ask for your personal or financial information via email/text.

2) Money Mules

Money mules are people who act as intermediaries receiving and moving money for criminals and criminal organisations.

Even if the money mule is not involved in the fraud or crime which generates the money, they’re acting illegally by laundering the funds and have played a role in the completion of the crime. This means you can be prosecuted.

Around six in ten money mules are under the age of 30 and most are recruited between the ages of 17 and 24. Many criminals target their recruitment of money mules at universities either online, in person or via friends and family.

How can you protect yourself?

• Be suspicious of job adverts that offer the chance to earn quick and easy money. Stick to reputable job sites and remember that if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is.
• Don’t sign up for any opportunity without undertaking some proper research. E.g., Google any prospective employer, do they have an online presence? Are the contact details legitimate? Is it based overseas?
• Don’t engage with any online posts offering large sums of money.
• Don’t accept message requests from people you don’t know, and if you receive a message with a link to click from a friend, speak to them in person before you respond.
• Don’t share bank and personal details with anyone that you don’t know or trust – even among friends or family. If someone asks to 'borrow' your bank account, say no.

Always remember that if you aren’t sure about the source of the money, it could have come from criminal activity, and you could unwittingly be laundering money and end up with a criminal conviction.

What should you do if you are suspicious?

If you or someone you know has been approached, break off all contact, don’t receive or move any money, and ask for advice from someone you trust. Criminals operate in silence – by talking about it, you are protecting others.

• Report it by calling local Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.
• Contact the HMRC Fraud Hotline quoting ref: IFMM23. You do not have to give your name or contact details unless you want to.
• Contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers 100% anonymously online or by calling 0800 555 111. Please quote ref: IFMM23.
• If you see it online, click the button to report it to the social media companies to get it taken down.

3) Job Scams

As many as one in three online job scams target students and fresh graduates. Job scams come in lots of different shapes and sizes, but they most commonly involve scammers posting adverts or contacting people out of the blue about unrealistic job opportunities.

What to look out for:

• Any job that asks you to ring a premium rate number (0845, 0844, 0870, 0871 etc.)
• Anyone who wants you to make an upfront payment or purchase equipment which they say they will pay for later.
• Pyramid schemes where you'll be recruited to an organisation on the premise of selling a product or service but will be asked to make a payment to join the company.
• Companies without a physical location or address.

What to do if you are suspicious or think you have been job scammed?

• If you think you’ve been scammed, stop all communication with the scammer immediately.
• If you can, take a note of their details and report them to Action Fraud.
• If you’ve given the scammer any money or shared your bank account details with them, contact your bank immediately.

4) Rental Fraud

Rental fraud happens when would-be tenants are tricked into paying an upfront fee to rent a property when in reality, the property does not exist, has already been rented out, or has been rented to multiple victims at the same time. Fraudsters know how tough it can be to find affordable housing as a student so can often become a target of such scams.

What to look out for:

• The price seems too good to be true
• The property is listed on a free website
• You cannot go and see the property in person
• There is no screening process for you as a tenant
• You’re being pressure to pay quickly
• There is no lease agreement

What to do if you are suspicious or think you have been scammed?

• If you can, take a note of their details and report them to Action Fraud.
• If you’ve given the scammer any money or shared your bank account details with them, contact your bank immediately.

5) Sextortion

Sexual extortion or ‘sextortion’ is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to share a nude or sexual image or video of you unless you give in to their demands. If this happens to you, you’re not alone – there’s help available.

What to look out for:

• Something does not add up. Their online profile doesn’t match what you see and hear when you talk or chat with them.
• It happens too fast. They express strong emotions for you almost straight away, and quickly tempt you across to a more private channel, suggesting you get nude or sexual in a video call.
• They make excuses. They say their webcam is not working and instead they send a nude photo which they claim is of them.
• They pile on the pressure. They keep asking you to be sexual and to send nudes with your face in the shot.

What should you do if you are being blackmailed?

• Do not pay the blackmailer or give them more money or intimate content.
• Do stop all contact with the person blackmailing you.
• Do report what’s happening. Report it to any platforms or services where the blackmailer contacted you. You can also use the University’s Report and Support Tool By to request confidential support from our Student Support Advisers who will help guide you through your options, signpost you to support and help you take control of the situation.
• Remember, it’s not your fault, even if you shared the intimate content with them in the first place – anyone can experience sextortion.

Top Tip

The University is committed to ensuring a safe, compassionate and inclusive working and learning

Use Report + Support to confidentially report incidents of bullying, harassment, discrimination, domestic abuse, and sexual violence. In making a report, our Harassment and Sexual Violence Officer, can provide you with the guidance and support you need to make informed decisions and put you in control of what happens next.

Support

Being worried that you might have been scammed or becoming a victim of fraudsters can be very stressful. If you have any concerns do not hesitate to contact our Student Support Advisers who can help you report the situation, protect yourself and signpost you to a range of emotional support.