While it's unlikely to happen to you, criminals sometimes target students through scams and fraud. Knowing the most common scams and how to spot them can help you stay safe and protect your money and personal information.
Protect yourself against frauds and scams
Fraudsters operate in all areas of life, and the higher education community is no exception. It is important to understand the most common types of scams so you can protect yourself.
Although scams affecting students are not common, knowing what to look out for can help reduce the risk of financial loss and unnecessary stress. If you are an international student, take time to familiarise yourself with the types of scams that occur in the UK, as they may differ from those in your home country. We have listed examples of these in the drop down menu below.
If you think you have been the victim of fraud, contact the Student Centre and they can refer you to the relevant support service for practical or emotional support.
- Visa scams
Some scams specifically target international students. Fraudsters may pretend to be from official organisations such as the UK Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) or an education agent. They may tell you that you have an immigration problem and demand immediate payment, claiming it is a fine. They may also threaten deportation or visa cancellation if you do not comply.
Remember that the Home Office does not issue fines in this way and will never telephone you asking for payment.
To help protect yourself:
- verify any information you receive about your visa
- contact the visa team if you are concerned or unsure.
- Accommodation fraud
Accommodation and rental fraud happens when someone advertises a property that is not genuinely available to rent or that they do not have the right to let. These adverts can appear on websites or social media and often include attractive prices, desirable locations and convincing photos.
Because accommodation can be in high demand, you may be pressured to act quickly or pay a deposit before viewing the property.
To help protect yourself:
- view the property in person before making any payment whenever possible
- check that the address and contact details are genuine by visiting 'Get information about a company' on the Gov.uk website.
- search for the company on Companies House
- be cautious of copycat or imitation websites
- use a reverse image search to check whether property photos appear elsewhere online.
- Tuition fee scams
Be cautious of anyone offering a better exchange rate or cheaper way to pay your tuition fees than the University's approved payment methods.
When paying your fees:
- if you are self-financing, always pay your own tuition fees and do not use a third-party agent
- never share your Sussex log in details with anyone else
- only use University-approved payment routes through Sussex Direct.
If you are unsure about a payment, contact Student Accounts on 0800 849 4979 or email financeservicedesk@sussex.ac.uk. - Essay writing services and exam paper scams
You may feel under pressure during your studies, but criminals exploit students by offering essays or exam papers for sale. You may pay and receive nothing, or you may be blackmailed and threatened with being reported to the University unless you pay more money.
To help protect yourself:
- do not use essay writing services or attempt to buy exam papers
- be cautious of anyone encouraging behaviour that could amount to academic misconduct.
- Investment fraud
Fraudsters promote investment opportunities that promise quick profits in return for money or cryptocurrency. These scams are often advertised through social media, messaging apps or telephone calls and are usually presented as time-sensitive opportunities.
To help protect yourself:
- seek independent financial advice before investing
- remember that if an investment opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is
- check investment firms using the Financial Conduct Authority's ScamSmart service.
- Romance fraud and sextortion
Romance fraud happens when someone contacts you through social media, dating apps or online chat platforms and pretends to develop a friendship or romantic relationship. Once they have gained your trust, they ask for money, often using a convincing but false story, such as a medical emergency, delayed wages or travel costs.
Sextortion is a form of online exploitation where offenders manipulate victims into sharing intimate images or videos. They then demand money or threaten to share the material with family, friends, employers or the wider public. There have also been cases where people believed they were communicating with a sex worker and were later blackmailed with threats to release messages, recordings or other content unless payment was made.
If this happens:
- stop communicating with the person and block them
- do not send any money or any further images or videos
- report the incident to the police
- if intimate images have been shared, use the StopNCII service to help prevent them being shared online.
- Financial exploitation
Criminals may ask you to receive money into your bank account and transfer it elsewhere in return for keeping a percentage of the money. Although this may be presented as an easy way to earn money, you could be helping to launder the proceeds of crime. Money laundering is a serious criminal offence.
To help protect yourself:
- never transfer money on behalf of someone else
- question and verify unsolicited job offers
- keep your bank account details private.
- Cyber kidnapping
Cyber kidnapping is a scam where fraudsters contact your friends or family claiming that you have been kidnapped and demand a ransom. In other cases, they may pretend to be police or government officials and tell you that you are in legal trouble unless you make a payment.
Criminals may also attempt to gain access to your online accounts, steal your identity or demand payment to regain access to your files or personal information.
To help protect yourself:
- contact the police if you or your family receive threats of this kind
- avoid sharing personal information publicly online and regularly review your privacy settings
- ask questions that only the genuine person would know the answer to if you need to verify someone's identity
- secure your online accounts with strong, unique passwords and two-step verification.
Fraudulent calls
Important: Whenever you receive a telephone call or email from someone you do not know, remember: it could be a scam.
Some common features of fraudulent calls include when the caller:
- appears to be genuine and convincing, because they have some limited information about you (for example, your passport number, as well as your telephone number and name)
- gives you their name and telephone number, to try to convince you they are genuine – the number may even appear on your phone as coming from a genuine source, such as a government department like the Home Office
- advises you not to tell anyone about the call as it would be a security breach.
If you’re contacted
If you receive such a call, email or text, do not:
- give the caller/sender any personal information
- confirm that any information they have is correct.
You may wish to:
- tell the caller or sender you know they are making fraudulent contact and that you will be reporting it to the police and the government
- report the matter to Action Fraud
- help other potential fraud victims by adding details of your experience to a discussion on the Who Calls Me website.
If you are a victim of fraud
Report the fraud
If you are a victim of fraud or cybercrime, you can report it to Report Fraud by:
- calling 0300 123 2040
- online through the Report Fraud website
- you can also report fraud in your preferred language through the Report Fraud website.
Contact the police
If a crime is happening now, or you know who the offender is, contact the police.
- in an emergency - call 999
- if it is a non-emergency - call 101
- you can also report crimes online through your local police force.
Contact your bank
If you think your bank account has been compromised or you have lost money, contact your bank immediately.
If you need help recovering money sent to an overseas bank account, contact your embassy or high commission for advice.
Learn more
The best way to avoid scams (not just as a student, but after your studies as well), is to follow reputable news and be aware of any emerging crime trends.
You can complete the Scams pathway on the Blackbullion learning platform to gain extra financial confidence.
At Sussex, you can keep up with student communications to help stay informed.