Be More Scam Aware at the University of Chichester
Advice and guidance on how to protect yourself from fraud during your time at the University of Chichester and beyond.
What are scams?
Scams are deceptive practices or frauds carried out using the internet, often aimed at stealing money, personal information, or other valuable assets. A scam is a criminal offence under the Fraud Act.
Scams can appear in many different forms, and can be sent to you via email, phone, social media, or physically through your letterbox.
What scams should I to look out for?
Below is a list of the most common scams targeted at students:
- Tuition Fee Fraud
- ‘Fake Officials’ Phone Scam
- Student Loans Company and Tax Refund Phishing Emails
- Online tickets for gigs
- Money Mule scams
- Free Wi-Fi
- Social Media Scams
While scammers use lots of different methods to try and defraud students, there are some common red flags that you can keep an eye out for. Think twice if:
- You are contacted out of the blue, even if it appears to be by someone you know
- An offer sounds too good to be true
- You are asked for any personal details
- An email/text/phone call claims to be time sensitive and urges you to act right away
- There are obvious grammatical or spelling mistakes
- You are told to keep something secret
- You are only provided with limited contact details
Tuition Fee Fraud
International Students may be more vulnerable to certain types of fraud. Read more here.
For example, some fraudsters contact students via social media, or even face-to-face, offering discounts on tuition fees, or exceptional currency exchange rates. These scams are usually illegal, meaning you could be found guilty of facilitating money laundering, as well as losing large amounts of your own money.
If you are contacted with an offer of this kind, do not respond, and make sure to report it to the University via the Support and Information Zone.
Students are advised to read and share the following document issued by the Police’s Dedicated Card & Payment Crime Unit.
Fake Officials Phone Scam
Another common scam occurs when students are contacted by fraudsters posing as senior officials from a variety of agencies. They may claim to work for HMRC, the Home Office, your bank, University of Chichester senior management, etc.
The fraudsters then claim that there are urgent issues with a student’s bank account, tax affairs, or VISA status, possibly even claiming that the student has already been the victim of a scam. They are then told, for example, to transfer their funds to a ‘safe’ bank account, and the students never see their money again.
In some cases, students are threatened with imminent arrest and deportation unless an immediate bank transfer is made to cover tax payments or fines relating to a visa irregularity.
If you are contacted by any agency who pushes for immediate action of this kind, ask them for their name and department, hang up, and contact the organisation via the details listed on their official website.
What to do
If you receive a scam of any kind, you should report it to Action Fraud, the national recording place for all fraud.
You can also report by calling 0300 123 2040 Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm
Sussex Police
If you are vulnerable, elderly or reporting a fraud on behalf of a vulnerable person, please consider reporting this directly to the Police
Vulnerable victims – Call 101 or use textphone service on 18001 101
Always call 999 if there is a crime in action or immediate risk to life Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) at report@phishing.gov.uk
Suspicious texts can be forwarded to 7726 or SCAM
Who else to tell
If you receive a scam email, you should also contact the internet service provider (ISP) that was used to send you the email. If you are contacted by someone pretending to be from a specific company, let the genuine company know.
If a scam relates particularly to the University of Chichester, for example if you were contacted via your University email address or on a University-owned device, or if the scammer claims to work for the University/offers a deal on your tuition fees, please speak to staff at the Support and Information Zone as soon as possible. You can find more advice on the University’s pages.
Support at the University
The Student Money Team offer advice and support if you find yourself in financial hardship as the result of a scam, including how to apply for the University Support Fund, a bursary, or an emergency loan if appropriate. The Support and Information Zone, found within the Learning Resources Centre on both campuses, is another place to go if you have been a victim of a scam, or if you are struggling with any welfare issue.
Further advice
The Get Safe Online, and West Sussex County Council websites contain general advice about staying safe online and how to avoid being scammed. Money Helper also has further information about telephone scams.
Ensure that your personal details and privacy are protected, particularly on social media. The Student Social Media and Communications Policy, outlines how to do this.