UK students are currently being targeted by scam callers asking for money to be paid over the phone.
The scammers pretend to be members of King’s staff or from your bank and tell you your account has been compromised. The caller will try to persuade you to move your money into another account.
We recommend updating your Student Finance password, ensuring that a unique, secure password is used and checking that your bank details in the system are correct.
Unfortunately, students are increasingly being targeted by money-related scams. A scenario that is becoming more common is where a third party offers to pay a student's fees on their behalf at a discounted rate. There are no discount schemes at King’s, so if you receive any correspondence about discounted fees then it is likely to be fraudulent.
Please ensure that you only pay your fees through a method of payment advertised and recognised by King's; visit How to pay my fees.
How do fee scams work?
A fraudulent third party might ask you to pay your fees to another person or direct you to a bogus site to make payment. The scammer will then "arrange a discount for you" and pay a reduced sum of your tuition fees on your behalf.
The reality is that this is a credit card scam, which sees bogus payments being made on student accounts using stolen credit cards details.
The scammer will make payment as agreed, but the payment will be rejected or later taken back when it becomes apparent that the card has been cloned or stolen.
Sometimes the scammer will attempt to make numerous payments of your tuition fees with several different cards to try to avoid detection, but this type of activity is monitored by our Credit Control team who might investigate your account and ask you to explain the payments.
The end result is that you will have lost your money, not paid your fees and unknowingly become involved in illegal activity.
The best way to avoid this situation is to remain vigilant, and if you receive any emails about fee discounts, don't take them seriously and forward on to Credit Control for further advice.
Types of student fee scams
This scam particularly targets international students paying tuition fees. Criminals may present themselves as a government agency and request payment for an “international student tariff”, in some cases even threatening to revoke a student’s visa if the payment is not made.
In other cases, fraudsters may create a fake email which appears to be from a genuine UK university, requesting payment for fees or informing a student of a change in bank account details to pay fees.
To avoid these types of scam, you should:
- Be wary of anyone who offers to make a tuition payment on your behalf.
- Avoid companies advertising tuition payment services that are not endorsed by King’s.
- Look for warning signs that an agent is not legitimate, such as requests for large upfront payments, offers to create false documents, refusal to provide references or charging fees for services that the university provides for free, for example, accommodation support.
- Don’t share personal, banking or financial information with anyone who lacks a verifiable relationship with King's.
- If you are concerned or unsure, please contact Credit Control for guidance.
The ‘money mule’ trap involves being offered payment in exchange for receiving money temporarily into your bank account. You will then be asked to withdraw the cash to hand over or transfer it on.
This type of scam is on the increase, targeting students who are short of money and may be tempted by offers to make ‘easy money’ on job search or social media websites.
Allowing your bank account to be used in this way is illegal and could result in a criminal record or even a prison sentence. If you are caught up in money muling you are also likely to have problems opening a new bank account or obtaining credit in the future.
To avoid falling into the money mule trap:
- Being wary of unsolicited offers to make ‘easy money’.
- Research companies offering such ‘job’ opportunities and making sure their contact details are genuine.
- Being especially cautious of ‘job offers’ from overseas, as it will be harder to check whether they are legitimate.
To find out more about this type of fraud, please read our article What is considered serious fraud, and how can I avoid it?
Student Loans Company (SLC) Scams
Be careful of scams related to your student loan. These emails often claim that fees or maintenance loans will be terminated if further information is not provided.
They often occur around August/September as that is when many students receive their first instalment for the year and have lots of communication with SLC.
You may be able to recognise it’s a scam, as emails may say ‘dear student’ rather than your name or have bad spelling, grammar and punctuation. Scammers also try to pressure you into giving personal details by creating a sense of urgency, e.g. stating that you must respond within 24 hours or you will not receive your loan.
Important to know: Never click on any suspicious links or attachments. If in doubt, log on to your online SFE account separately on a secure browser and look for any notifications. The same principle applies for calls from SFE – never give personal details over the phone.
You may also find this guidance helpful: UK Gov - Scams: how you can avoid them.
Ponzi schemes are investment scams which pay returns to investors from their own money, or from money paid in by other investors. However, there is no actual investment scheme.
How it works:
- A fraudster places an advertisement for a non-existent investment that offers extraordinary returns in a short space of time.
- After receiving the promised returns on their investment, the first investors start to spread the word to family and friends. In this way, the scheme gains credibility.
- Because the money isn’t invested in any kind of investment vehicle, there are no profits. Instead, the first investors are simply paid out from the money paid in by new investors.
Victims believe they will gain incredible investments, but the criminals take all the money and invest none. Initially they pay the victims so that the victims recruit their friends and families and then all the money is lost.
Please read more about this particular scam at Report Fraud: Ponzi schemes.
Anyone is a potential victim of a scam. A wide range of scams are very common, can be very clever and may seem legitimate.
Students in particular can be vulnerable to scams, and there are particular groups which are targeted more often.
International students are often targeted due to their unfamiliarity with the UK student fee system.
According to the Dedicated Care and Payment Crime Unit (DCPU), Chinese students are also being approached via WeChat (a messaging service). They are approached under the pretence that they could pay discounted tuition fees through a third party. They then get asked to share personal details (e.g. their student ID, portal login details, their date of birth).
However, the fraudsters use stolen credit cards to pretend to pay fees and issue a fake ‘receipt’, to trick you into reimbursing the money to them. However, because the university doesn’t actually receive the money, you will end up being scammed out of your money and still have a tuition fee waiting to be paid.
If you pay your own fees, you may be on the lookout for scholarships and other opportunities to reduce costs, especially when transferring funds from overseas.
Scammers take advantage of this by creating discounted payment options, which do not exist, and can implicate you in payment fraud.
New students with new ‘clean’ bank accounts are targeted by criminal gangs with opportunities to make easy money, by helping to move payments across account accounts.
This is money laundering and can lead to a prison term for anyone implicated; in most cases the original criminal is never found.
Important to know: Always be wary of a new friend or acquaintance asking you to hold on to money for them. Never give our your bank details and periodically review your statements to ensure nothing is occurring in your account.
We recommend reading What is considered serious fraud, and how can I avoid it?
Tips to keep your money safe
- Be cautious of people/ organisations approaching you via social media and messaging services.
- Pay tuition fees directly to the university. Do not use third-party services.
- Report anything suspicious to the university.
- Never share personal information or student details.
Understand scams
Watch our scams series videos and learn about the scams that can target students, and how to report them.
Understanding & Avoiding Scams Part 1: What is a Scam?
In this workshop, we will be introducing you to the concept of scams, who they target, the different types of scams, and how they con you.
View it here or at King’s Media: Understanding & Avoiding Scams Part 1: What is a Scam?
Understanding & Avoiding Scams Part 2: Known Student Scams
In this workshop, we will be focusing on some of the scams that you need to be aware of. We will look at scams we have seen target students and young people, so you know how they con you, what to watch our for, and be confident in spotting a fraudster.
View it here or at King’s Media: Understanding & Avoiding Scams Part 2: Known Student Scams
