Scams
Scams come in many forms, but all are designed to get hold of your money. The tactics used by scammers vary but may be carried out by post, phone, email, text or online. It can even happen when someone calls to your front door. Scams can be disguised as a purchase of goods, entering competitions and even job offers.
It’s important to know the warning signs to look out for and what to do if you have, or think, you’ve been targeted.
Signing up to the free SU financial wellbeing platform, Blackbullion and completing the Scams pathway is a good starting point. This quick 10-minute animation will provide you with the basics.
More detailed information on different scams such as, Phising, Vishing, Advance- fee fraud and Authorised push payment fraud can be found in the guide provided by MoneyHelper
According to Which? Rental Fraud is a growing concern, and with a high demand for rooms to rent in university towns and cities, this is something students should be particularly alert to.
You may want to sign up to Scam Alerts from Which? These emails will alert you to the latest scams doing the rounds and provide practical advice to keep you one step ahead of fraudsters.
If you think someone is trying to trick you into handing over money or personal details - stop, hang up and call 159 to speak directly to your bank. Find out more about using the 159 service here
If you are unfortunate enough to be scammed in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you should report this to Action Fraud
Data to Go, a 'hidden camera' film (created by Cifas in partnership with BBH London), highlights just how easy it is for criminals to get your personal information from the Internet
If you haven’t been able to find the information your looking for please contact us at su.advice@qub.ac.uk
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International Student Scams
International students are especially vulnerable to being targeted by criminals. This may take the form of telephoning students and pretending to be from a legitimate organisation (such as the UK Home Office) demanding action or threatening huge fines.
The scam follows a similar pattern as the example below:
- The student receives a call or an email from someone pretending to be from the Home Office and may know personal details such as full names, passport numbers and postcodes
- The number shown as calling may seem to match a genuine number such as the Home Office one (020 7035 4848) and they may ask you to verify this on the Home Office website where the number may appear.
- They can also pretend to be another legitimate organisation such as an education agent, the Embassy or High Commission, or even the police in your home country.
- The student is told there is a problem with their visa and that they need to pay a fine and/or give the caller personal information and contact details.
- Sometimes the caller would be already in possession of some of the student's personal details such as passport number which makes it even more convincing.
- They may instruct the student to pay the fine via Western Union & MoneyGram.
- They may also instruct the student to obtain further cash and/or buy a large amount of iTunes gift cards.
- They claim that, if the victim does not pay the fine, they will be reported to the police and/or the Home Office who will detain or deport them.
- They may also use WeChat or other similar programmes to contact a student on their phone claiming to be their bank, the embassy, police or other reputable agency and are told they owe funds at once, often being offered preferential exchange rates on currency conversions.
A new emerging scam involves international students, or their family members, being contacted and offered discounts or ‘help’ to pay tuition fees.
The scammers pay the tuition fees with a stolen card so that it shows up as paid on your university account and you then pay the scammers. Eventually, the University will be contacted by the credit card company to inform them the payment to your account was made using a stolen credit card.
You will have not only paid the scammers, but you will still be liable to pay for the tuition fees originally paid for using by the stolen card.
If you haven’t been able to find the information your looking for please contact us at su.advice@qub.ac.uk