Student Loans Company
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 report@phishing.gov.ukand if they think have been a victim of a scam, please contact SLCs specialist team on 0300 100 0059.
SLC is also alerting students to a current scam. This 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.
Alan Balanowski, Risk Director at Student Loans Company, said:
With 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 its important that they are aware of what to look out for.
To 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.
Alan has also shared SLCs 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 youre 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 - https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing
- 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 youre not sure of, then hover over it to check that it goes where its supposed to. If youre still in any doubt dont 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 persons 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 atwww.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 hasnt 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 its genuine.
There is also a range of additional advice and information on recognising and avoiding scams fromAction Fraud, the UKs national reporting centre