"You've won an iPhone, just click this link!"... While you've probably seen these fraudulent messages a thousand times before, there are a bunch of sophisticated scams going around at the moment, targeting students that may catch you off guard. 

Student Finance Scams

Scammers may contact students pretending to be from the Student Loans Company (SLC) asking for private details such as personal information, security or payment details which you should never give out over email. 

This includes other companies such as HMRC, your bank, PayPal, eBay etc. If you are ever in doubt, contact the company yourself to ask for more info through a reliable channel such as the telephone.  

However, fully ignoring important emails which may be real is not advisable, here are some signs of a scam: 

• "https://" is far more reliable compared to links starting with "http://"

• Look for slight changes to well-known addresses i.e. www.hotm&il.com

• Look at the sender's address... if it looks suspicious, it probably is! 

Smishing

"Smishing" is a mix of "SMS" and "phishing" and you may not be as aware of it. 

Scammers may contact you via text pretending to be a legitimate company with a link asking you to provide personal information. Like emails, companies will never request this info by text. If you are unsure the text is valid, contact the company directly via the information provided on their official website. 

Money Muling

This occurs when someone transfers illegally obtained money digitally on behalf of someone else. There are many reasons as to why someone may ask for this, i.e. they can't pay cash into their own account and need a hand... but while you may think you're helping a stranger out, you could face prison time as you do not know where this money has come from. It isn't worth the risk!

If you see a scam, click the 'report' button so you can help protect others.