Student Finance Fraud
Students have reported getting emails that appear to be from Student Finance England asking them to verify their account details in order to get their next payment. These emails are scams. No government department sends unsolicited emails. Find out what to do if you get one of these scam emails.
How the scam works
The scam email asks students to click on a link within the email to complete a form in order to verify their account details.
This kind of scam email is known as ‘phishing’ and is designed to get access to your Student Finance account.
If you get one of these emails
Remember that Student Finance will never ask you to:
-
update your bank details by emailing you a link
-
verify your student account details by email
If you get one of these scam emails, don’t click on any links contained in it.
Instead, send it to Student Finance England by forwarding it to the email address below:
By forwarding the email, you can help Student Finance England to protect you and others who may be affected.
Once you’ve forwarded it to Student Finance England, delete it from your inbox.
If you think that someone might have guessed or found out your Student Finance account login details (or you’ve disclosed them after a phishing email), you can change them online.
Change your student finance account security details
Staying safe from scams
Make sure you’re logging into the genuine website by typing www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance into your browser.
Other top tips to stay safe from phishing include:
- be suspicious of any urgent requests for personal or financial information
- be aware: Phishing scams are common at the three main instalment payment dates in September, January and April
- always ensure that you're using a secure web site when submitting credit card or other sensitive information; look out for "https://" and/or the security lock
- prevention: Your email details may have been taken from a social networking site so avoid disclosing your email address or make sure you hide it on your page
- check the quality of the communication. Misspelling, poor punctuation and bad grammar are often tell-tale signs of phishing
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