The most common scams targeting students

Thousands of students are targeted by scammers each year, with losses ranging from a few quid to tens of thousands of pounds. 

As the summer draws to a close and we approach the start of the new term, fraudsters are poised and ready to take advantage of students returning to their studies.

Read on to find out about the most common scams you need to be aware of.

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Student Loans Company impersonation scams

Scammers attempt to con students into giving away personal and financial information by impersonating the Student Loans Company (SLC) and Student Finance England (SFE).

In January, SLC warned that scammers claiming to be from ‘SLC Investigations’ were emailing students ahead of the new term informing them that they should expect a call from a withheld number to verify their payment details. SLC has confirmed that it never proactively contacts students to verify bank details ahead of a payment date. 

If you receive a suspicious call or message claiming to be from SLC, don't respond. Instead, log in to your online account to see if you have any messages. 

Dodgy emails can be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk. Scam texts can be forwarded to 7726 and then deleted.  

Fake tuition fee discounts

This callous scam is commonly targeted at international students. It involves scammers offering a discount on tuition fees if full payment is made upfront. 

In July, the independent Cambridge University publication, Varsity, reported that a scam appearing to use a Cambridge student email address offered an 'early payment discount' on tuition fees. 

This example involved an email directing students to fill out a Google Form with their personal details. This was followed by a second email asking for their 2024-25 fees to be paid to a bank account for a 15% discount.

Similar scams have been reported regarding fake scholarship offers, where a victim is contacted to inform them a scholarship is available to them if they provide their personal and financial details.

Watch out for any request for your information. If you're unsure about the authenticity of the offer, contact your university directly.

Phoney accommodation

The start of the new academic year also sees a mad scramble to secure ‘good’ accommodation. 

Sadly, this offers another opportunity for scammers. According to Action Fraud data, in the last three months there have been over 1,000 reports of rental fraud with approximately £2.7m lost.

These scams can be incredibly convincing. One rental scam victim we spoke to last year lost £1,500 after being convinced by a fake landlord to pay a deposit to view a property. The scammer provided official-looking paperwork, a tenancy agreement, a passport for proof of ID and an apparent video tour of the property. After paying the money, the victim was blocked by the ‘landlord’.

Don’t trust listings you find on social media. Use a letting agent or official housing provided by your University. Letting agents should be a member of a redress scheme - the Property Ombudsman or Property Redress Scheme. Read through our guide on the questions to ask when choosing a rental property.

If in doubt, trust your instincts. Never make a payment to a stranger via bank transfer or PayPal's 'friends and family' option. 

If you've lost money to a rental scam, contact your bank immediately and report the scam to Action Fraud, or the police if you are in Scotland. 

• Find out more: what to do if you're a victim of a bank transfer scam

Job scams and money mules

Students looking to earn some money while studying are also targeted by fraudsters. 

Scammers will go to extremes to appear genuine with well-written adverts, salaries, company names and even fake websites.

Sadly, those swindled by a job scam can find themselves out of pocket, being convinced to pay expenses, buy equipment or pay for training courses.

In extreme cases, a victim may find themselves acting as a money mule by allowing the fraudster to use their bank account to transfer dirty money. In 2023, nearly two thirds of bank accounts with mule behaviour belonged to people aged under 30, according to the fraud prevention service Cifas. Be savvy to job scams – being asked to pay money or transfer money from your own account is a red flag and you should cease contact.

If you think you've fallen victim to a job scam contact your bank immediately, then report the scam to Action Fraud, or the police if you are in Scotland.