Beware of text message tuition fee fraud and other student scams
Published: 19/09/2024
We鈥檝e put together a list of the four biggest scams to watch out for during your studies.
1. The tuition fees scam
We have received reports that scammers have been texting and calling students and their parents, pretending to be the Student Loans Company (SLC) or NTU colleagues, and asking them to pay tuition fees.
This scam is convincing because they know specific details about students.
The Student Loans Company have even seen an increase in ‘smishing’ attacks – fraud via text message – and have offered .
2. The accommodation fees scam
Criminals are also pretending to work for university accommodation providers and are contacting students asking for fees to be paid.
Don’t give out bank details or set up payment plans over the phone to anyone who cold calls you or texts you. Contact your accommodation provider or the University directly if you’re not sure.
NTU will never ask you to pay fees over the phone or by text. Don’t give out bank details over the phone to anyone who contacts you claiming to be from NTU.
If you receive a call or text from someone asking for these details, do not respond, make a note of the phone number used, and get in touch with the NTU Accommodation team.
3. Money muling
Money muling is when you are asked by criminals to give access to your bank account so they can pass criminal money through it. They will try to entice you with promises of quick cash, but being a money mule makes you complicit in a crime which can have serious consequences. Recruiters are often active in student cities and on social media and they will also try to get students to recruit each other.
Find out more about money muling and how to avoid this dangerous scam.
4.Ticket scams
There’s always plenty of fun things going on for university students, especially during freshers. But be wary of events you see advertised online; scammers have been known to advertise fake events in the hopes of selling you tickets for them.
Learn more about how to spot ticket scams in our recent article.