Be aware of student loan scams this term

As the January student finance instalment approaches, it is important to be vigilant against scams as you await the next payment of your maintenance loans.

Scammers may try to trick you into giving away personal and financial information by sending fake emails (phishing) and texts (smishing) or calling and pretending to be from Student Loans Company (SLC), Student Finance England (SFE), or other legitimate organisations, ahead of the January payment dates.

Contact the IT Service Desk if you've received or acted on a suspicious email to your UAL account. You should also reset your password immediately on Password Self Service (PSS).

If you think you have been victim of a financial scam, contact the Student Advice team.

Current scams to be aware of

A current scam that fraudsters are using is an email that claims to be from ‘SLC Investigations’ telling students to expect a call from a private number to verify payment details. The email is being sent from an @outlook.com address and is not an official SLC email. SLC will never proactively contact students to verify bank details ahead of a payment date.

How to spot and stop a scam

• Check the quality of the communication - misspelling, poor punctuation and bad grammar are often tell-tale signs of phishing.
• Keep an eye out for any emails, phone calls or SMS messages you think are suspicious, especially around the time you’re expecting a payment.
• You can also forward any suspicious texts to 7726 which will alert phone providers to the scam. More information about reporting suspicious activity can be found here.
• Scam emails and text messages are often sent in bulk to many people at the same time and are unlikely to contain both your first and last name. These commonly start - ‘Dear Student’ - so be on guard if you see one like this.
• Messages that convey a sense of urgency are also unlikely to be genuine – for example ‘failure to respond in 24 hours will result in your account being closed’.
• Think before you click. If you receive an email or SMS that contains a link that you’re not sure of, then hover over it to check that it goes where it’s supposed to. If you’re still in any doubt don’t risk it, always go direct to the source rather than clicking on a potentially dangerous link.
• Pay close attention to the sender information in emails and text messages.
• Scammers can use a variety of methods to try and get you to pay money or share personal details, including the use of fraudulent phone calls, social posts and direct messaging on digital platforms. If you are suspicious of being contacted, always use official phone numbers, your online account and official communication channels to verify the contact you received is genuine.
• Be mindful of the information you share about yourself on social media, and elsewhere online, to help guard against identity theft. Identity theft happens when fraudsters access information about a person’s identity, such as their name, date of birth, customer reference number, course information or their current or previous addresses to impersonate them online and over the phone.
• Check out the full Gov UK guide to identifying a scam.

SLC also has a range of methods to protect students, including sending an SMS to customers in England if a change has been made to their bank details. If a customer hasn’t changed their details but receives a message, they should log into their online account to review their information.