Phishing email scams: how to protect yourself

[StephenF]

Some emails can look like they’re from a legitimate organisation, but later turn out to be part of a scam designed to steal your money. Phishing scams are becoming increasingly common as fraudsters think of new ways to target all types of people.

Recently in the news, university students have been warned about a new email phishing scam aimed at gathering personal information from loan applicants. Scammers have been sending emails to students claiming to be from the Student Loans Company, urging them to share their personal details. The messages claim that their account has been suspended due to incomplete information. These scammers then encourage victims to share their details, then steal their identity and defraud them.

Here are some tips from Action Fraud to protect against phishing emails:

• Don’t assume anyone who’s sent you an email or text message – or has called your phone or left you a voicemail message – is who they say they are.
• If a phone call or voicemail, email or text message asks you to make a payment, log in to an online account or offers you a deal, be cautious.
• Make sure your spam filter is on your emails. If you find a suspicious email, mark it as spam and delete it to keep out similar emails in future.
• If in doubt, check it’s genuine by asking the company itself. Never call numbers or follow links provided in suspicious emails; find the official website or customer support number using a separate browser and search engine.

If anyone you know has received a scam email about student finance, then please urge them to contact phishing@slc.co.uk and report it to Action Fraud.