皇冠体育app

As the January student finance instalment approaches, the Student Loans Company (SLC) is issuing a reminder to all students to be vigilant against scams as they await the next payment of their maintenance loans.

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

SLC will never ask students to provide their personal or financial information via email or text message. If a student receives a suspicious message, they should email it to [email protected]聽and if they think have been a victim of a scam, please contact SLC鈥檚 specialist team on 0300 100 0059.

SLC is also alerting students to a current scam. This is an email that claims to be from 鈥楽LC Investigations鈥� telling students to expect a call from a private number to verify payment details. 皇冠体育app 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.聽

Alan Balanowski, Risk Director at Student Loans Company, said:

鈥淲ith the sophistication of scams increasing, students need to be vigilant. For students who started study in the autumn, we are reminding them to stay alert to any unusual or suspicious communication about their next payment. And for those starting their courses in January, this may be the first time they have had any kind of payment from SLC, so it鈥檚 important that they are aware of what to look out for.

鈥淭o all students, please consider the content of any communication you receive and work with us to identify and respond to threats. Remember that we would never ask you to provide financial information via email or text, or initiate contact with you via social media. If in doubt, check our website, visit our social media channels or get in touch.鈥�

Alan has also shared SLC鈥檚 top tips on 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鈥檙e expecting a payment.
• You can also forward any suspicious texts to 7726 which will alert phone providers to the scam. More information 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. 皇冠体育appse commonly start - 鈥楧ear Student鈥� - so be on guard if you see one like this.
• Messages that convey a sense of urgency are also unlikely to be genuine 鈥� for example 鈥榝ailure to respond in 24 hours will result in your account being closed鈥�.
• Think before you click. If you receive an email or SMS that contains a link that you鈥檙e not sure of, then hover over it to check that it goes where it鈥檚 supposed to. If you鈥檙e still in any doubt don鈥檛 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.
• Students should also be mindful of the information that they share about themselves on social media, and elsewhere online, to help guard against identity theft. Identity theft happens when fraudsters access information about a person鈥檚 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 our guide to identifying a scam at聽www.gov.uk/guidance/phishing-scams-how-you-can-avoid-them

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鈥檛 changed their details but receives a message, they should log into their online account to review their information.

Student Finance England (SFE) does not provide any services through WhatsApp and will never initiate contact with a student through social media channels to discuss their application or student finance entitlement. If a customer receives a communication from SFE that they are unsure of, they should log into their online account to verify if it鈥檚 genuine.

皇冠体育appre is also a range of additional advice and information on recognising and avoiding scams from聽, the UK鈥檚 national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.