2012

Fraud facts for Freshers

It's that time of year again. Phishing emails are being sent to students, supposedly coming from Student Finance NI, Wales or England. Be vigilant against these emails.

Top tips for identifying email fraud - phishing e-mails:

• Student Finance NI will never ask you to confirm your bank details or login information by email.
• Phishing emails are usually sent out in bulk and are unlikely to contain your first or last names
• Phishing scams are common at the three main installment payment dates in September/October, January and April
• Be suspicious of any urgent requests for personal or financial information·
• Check the quality of the communication. Misspelling, poor punctuation and bad grammar are often tell-tale signs of phishing
• If you believe that you have received a phishing e-mail your should let Student Loans Company know right away by e-mailing it tophishing@slc.co.uk

Lots more info about online safety here: http://bit.ly/OtWsQ2

Our top tips for social network safety:

• Always create strong passwords for online accounts and update them regularly on social media sites. Longer passwords (8-10 characters) that contain letters, numbers and symbols are more secure. Avoid using the same password for multiple social media sites.
• Be cautious of the information you post publicly such as your Customer Reference Number, address or date of birth. Use the site’s privacy settings to limit who can see your personal information and posts.
• Be careful who you befriend. You put yourself at risk by not taking the time to filter who you accept into your inner circle. Friend requests can be used by social bots to hack your network and by phishers trying to steal your personal information.
• Stay up-to-date with changes to your social network’s settings as small changes can cause big problems. If a site decides to changes its privacy settings or policy this could leave your personal details more publicly available than they had been previously.
• Review your social media profiles. Always consider how others may view the information you provide about yourself, your family and your friends and remember that social media sites are public resources