As technology continues to advance, scams and fraud are becoming increasingly common and sophisticated. Scams and fraud can take different forms but what they have in common is that they are trying to get hold of your money, usually by attempting to get your personal information or persuading you to hand over money such as by bank transfer or sharing your card details.
How could you be targeted?
Scammers may claim that they can provide no-cost money transfers or provide discounts, and may pretend to be someone else such as an official from the University or an organisation such as the UK home office, HMRC, an education agent or Student Loan companies.
They also use different methods to communicate such as by phone, post, or social media platforms.
Anyone can be targeted by scammers, so it is important you know how to spot signs of a scam and protect yourself. Find information, examples of common scams and guidance on what to do if you think you are being targeted or have fallen victim to a scam.
Keep your software and anti-virus protection up to date
Check that links come from a trusted source – do not click them if you are unsure
Use strong and varied passwords, and never share them
Back up your data (Office 365: OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams). Your Warwick shared drive or H: Drive are all suitable places to back up your University work. Backup your personal files in a cloud storage you trust using a personal account so that you don’t lose them when leaving the University
Remember to keep the backups secure.
Protect your mobile devices - keep anything like laptops, tablets, and phones that have professional or personal data on secure at all times. Lock your devices (digitally and physically.
Phishing is a term used to describe sending communications (emails, texts, instant messages) with a link that takes you to a fake website designed to steal personal and identifier information. The primary delivery medium is email. It's relatively easy to spot a phishing scam as even though it can look legitimate on the surface there are simple ways to identify that it’s fake. Make sure you investigate beyond the title or body of an email and ensure the email address and domain are what you expect. Misspelling, poor punctuation and bad grammar are also often tell-tale signs of phishing.
Card payment scam
This involves the unauthorised use of your credit or debit card data (card number, billing address, security code and expiry date) to purchase products and services in a non-face-to-face setting, such as via e-commerce websites or over the telephone. Such attacks will commonly use compromised card details, perhaps obtained through a phishing scam.
Impersonation scams
These are often referred to as authorised push payment or bank transfer scams. This happens when the victim is tricked into making bank transfers to an account posing as a legitimate payee. Another level of impersonation fraud occurs when victim details are used by fraudsters to apply for financed goods, services, or financial products. Such details can be obtained from phishing attacks or social engineering.
Money mules
Organised Crime Groups are recruiting thousands of young people into their money-laundering networks each month as they seek to use their legitimate bank accounts to ‘clean’ their illegal funds. These are known as ‘money mules’. By using money mules, criminals try to ensure that the consequences hit the mule instead of them. Money mules usually get recruited because they get a cut of the stolen money. This means they are involved in money laundering.
This is a serious criminal offence, with a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
How can you protect yourself from financial scams?
Be wary of job adverts that offer the chance to earn quick and easy money. Stick to reputable job sites.
Don’t sign up for an opportunity without undertaking research (research the company and check contact details)
Don’t accept message requests from people you don’t know
Don’t share your bank and personal details with anyone you don’t know and trust.
Fraudsters and/or another student may approach either in person or via social media. They will offer to provide help to pay upcoming tuition fees. The fraudster will either utilise your email account or their email account having collected all the payment log in details from you.
The fraudster will ask that you pay up 10% of the fees upfront as an administrative fee and then once received they will initiate the tuition fee payment using a stolen bank, debit/credit details. However, they will be well aware the payment is unlikely to be successful and will disappear before the payment is rejected.
The fraudster will appear to have made a successful payment by sending you a copy of the invoice showing the full payment made. In reality, all they have done is made a successful £1 payment using a stolen debit/credit card and then altered the invoice to make it seem like they have made a full tuition fee payment. They will then ask you for an administrative fee of 10% and then they will disappear with the money.
They may appear to be genuine and convincing, and may give a false name and return phone number. They tell you to send money as soon as possible using different methods of payment such as MoneyGram, to prevent some kind of action, like deportation or cancellation of your visa – do not do this. Legitimate visa officers will only meet you at their offices and will never contact you to ask for money in person or by email or phone.
How to protect yourself
Be aware of online scams targeting international students and know how to protect yourself from scammers.
Remember:
Government authorities do not use phone calls to ask for payment. They usually send a letter to your home.
NHS treatment is free of charge if you hold a Student Visa, including a medical note or fit note Link opens in a new windowif you are ill for more than 7 days (some doctors would charge a small admin fee if you are unwell for shorter periods, for example, £30).
If you receive a phone call asking for money or sending threatening messages, even if they say they are calling from an Embassy and your phone displays a matching phone number, just hang up. It's most likely a scam
Quite often, scammers may have some of your personal, passport or visa information and say they have some evidence of you being involved in fraudulent activity, and will cancel your visa or biometric residence permit. They may ask you not to contact anyone and not to hang up. This is a scam - just hang up.
What to look out for
Advertising a property that doesn’t exist
Requesting a deposit before you’ve viewed the property
Scammers posing as landlords
Fake communications about missing payments
Renting out properties in poor or unliveable conditions
Landlords not meeting legal obligations and infringing on the rights of the tenants.
How to protect yourself
Only rent a property through reputable sources like well-known letting agents and landlords registered through local accreditation schemes or the University
Visit properties in person, view them properly and check the interior of a house or room before handing over any money
Avoid cash payments - legitimate landlords will accept traceable bank transfers. Make sure that they are using a Deposit Rental Scheme for your deposit so that you're protected.
Research average rental price in the area
Have a written tenancy agreement so that you're legally protected, especially when getting your deposit back
"Can I use your bank account, please?"- Fraudsters and/or other students may approach you either in person or via social media. They will ask you to process a payment from a bank account/credit or debit card for their tuition fees and then once the payment has been successful, they will ask you to get the educational establishment to refund the money. The fraudsters will likely coach you about how to do it or may even do it themselves using your email account. Once the refund has been completed, the fraudsters may give you money or other incentives.
Fake messages that looks like they’re from a legitimate organisation, e.g., tax refund from HMRC
Text messages or emails from HMRC advising you are due a tax refund and you need to provide your personal details
How to protect yourself
Request a number to call back. Usually, a fraudster will never give out their details. Do not share anything over a phone call.
Never share bank details with anyone
Avoid ‘too good to be true’ deals, such as unsolicited offers of easy money, discounts, jobs or visas
Avoid sharing any details about your University login credentials with anyone, especially with strangers or any third party
Do not share or confirm any personal information like your name, pin code, address, phone number, or date of birth. Fraudsters often have incomplete information about you and reach out to fill in the gaps to conduct a scam.
Check the quality of the communication or website. Misspelling, poor punctuation or design and bad grammar are often tell-tale signs of phishing. Be suspicious of emails or text messages asking you to click a link or confirm information about yourself.
Look for words like warning, urgent, important, deportation, threats, deadline. Tactics are often employed to scare victims and make them transfer funds immediately. Stay calm, be aware and sceptical of such scams and seek help if you’re unsure.
Resist the urge to act immediately and never transfer funds to someone you don't know
Report anything suspicious as soon as you can
Protecting family members from student related scams
Scammers are becoming more sophisticated and are now targeting family members with emotionally manipulative tactics. These scams might include fake phone calls pretending to be from immigration officials, impersonation of university staff, or even AI-generated voice messages claiming their child is in trouble.
If family members ever receive a message like this, they should stay calm and verify it through official channels before taking any action.
What to look out for
Urgent requests for money via unfamiliar channels (e.g., cryptocurrency, wire transfer).
Calls or emails claiming to be from the Home Office, police, or university demanding payment.
Offers to pay tuition fees at a discount or requests to change payment methods.
How to protect yourself and your family
Always verify with the university directly using official contact details.
Do not share personal or financial information with unknown contacts.
If in doubt, contact Action Fraud or your local police.
Family members should encourage their child to keep them informed and share official university safety resources with them.
Scammers contact family members claiming their child has been kidnapped or is in danger. They may use AI-generated voice clones of the student to make the call sound authentic. Family members are then pressured to send money urgently, often via wire transfer or cryptocurrency.
Family members receive calls or emails from individuals posing as officials from the Home Office, embassies, or police. They claim the student has violated immigration laws and demand immediate payment to avoid deportation or legal action. Bear in mind that no legitimate authorities will demand immediate payments.
Scammers offer to help family members pay tuition at a discounted rate. They use stolen cards to make fake payments to the university, then ask the family to reimburse them. When the payment is reversed, the student still owes the fees and the family member loses money.
Family members are told the child is in a medical emergency, legal trouble, or has been arrested. Scammers use urgency and emotional manipulation to extract money quickly.
Scammers will send texts/WhatsApp messages pretending to be the student using a friend’s phone because theirs was 'stolen/lost/broken'. If the family member engages with the scammer, the scammer will give an excuse as to why they need money. They will then ask for money to be transferred into their bank account. Some scammers use AI to replicate voices, making their messages sound more convincing. In some cases, a family member might receive a call where the voice is hard to hear or sounds distorted. The call is then suddenly cut off and a text message is sent.
Useful links
If you're still unsure or need some further information on how to avoid scams or if you've got something you'd link to report, please use the below links.
