Fraud facts for freshers
The Student Loans Company (SLC) has launched advice for new students to help prevent student finance fraud – particularly the increase in ‘phishing’ emails.
Phishing is word used to describe attempts to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
‘Phishing’ emails targeting students are very common at the start of term and around the main student loan instalment dates. Phishing has become extremely sophisticated and some of these emails look very authentic.
Please take note of the advice from the SLC below. If you are worried about student finance or fraud, then please contact student services on studentservices@soas.ac.uk
Top tips for identifying email fraud - phishing e-mails:
- Student Finance England will never ask you to confirm your bank details or login information by email
- Dear Student - phishing emails are usually sent out in bulk and are unlikely to contain your first or last names
- Phishing scams are common at the three main instalment payment dates in September, January and April
- Be suspicious of any urgent requests for personal or financial information
- Check the quality of the communication. Misspelling, poor punctuation and bad grammar are often tell-tale signs of phishing
- If you believe that you have received a phishing e-mail your should let us know right away by e-mailing it to phishing@slc.co.uk
- Lots more info about online safety at getsafeonline.org
Our top tips for social network safety:
- Always create strong passwords for online accounts and update them regularly on social media sites. Longer passwords (8-10 characters) that contain letters, numbers and symbols are more secure. Avoid using the same password for multiple social media sites
- Be cautious of the information you post publicly such as your Customer Reference Number, address or date of birth. Use the site’s privacy settings to limit who can see your personal information and posts
- Be careful who you befriend. You put yourself at risk by not taking the time to filter who you accept into your inner circle. Friend requests can be used by social bots to hack your network and by phishers trying to steal your personal information
- Stay up-to-date with changes to your social network’s settings as small changes can cause big problems. If a site decides to changes its privacy settings or policy this could leave your personal details more publicly available than they had been previously
- Review your social media profiles. Always consider how others may view the information you provide about yourself, your family and your friends and remember that social media sites are public resources.
