For the month of May, I selected the theme of ‘Common Scams for Students’.  There are so many different types, and they can pose major risks for students – not only for your money but your overall student experience.

These often affect students at critical points in the university journey – applying for visas, student loans, when paying your tuition fees, dealing with the varied authorities involved in processing admin etc.

Below, I have outlined a few types of scams that affect students most often and proposed some solutions to help guide you away from being caught out. Diligence is key when dealing with these processes.

Tuition fee scams

Impersonation of the Student Loans Company

Scammers might contact you asking you to verify your bank details to get this information from you by pretending to be the Student Loans Company, but the Student Loans Company themselves will never do this. To get correct updates about your tuition fees and loans, login to your online account.

Here are the official websites for Scottish and English student loans companies:

Student Awards Agency Scotland | SAAS – Funding Your Future

Student finance login | GOV.UK

Discounted fees paid through another party

Scammers can pose as third parties offering to pay your tuition fees to the university, while offering a discount for early payments. They often pretend to be organisations associated with the uni, such as student associations etc. This ends up with students paying tuition to false bank accounts, and universities eventually asking for the fees, as they never actually received them – leading students to pay twice. Only pay your fees directly to the University Finances department through the official channels that you have been instructed to use. MyEd has a section where you can manage tuition fees, so this should be your main port of call. 

Please refer to the UoE student finance page for further information and for asking questions related to tuition fees payments:

FAQs | Finance

Housing scams

When students are trying to find houses, scammers are trying to find students…

Pay to view a flat

Scams involving housing might make you pay a deposit to view a flat, or secure a flat by creating a false sense of urgency and offering a too-good-to-be-true property. This often happens via social media (be cautious around those Facebook Find A Flat groups).

False flats

Scammers can offer flats online, which do not actually exist when you arrive. Make sure that you ensure flats you are viewing are real, by getting to know the landlord, going to trusted agencies used by past students or people you know, physical viewings etc.

EUSA have a comprehensive guide on spotting the signs of a scam:

Accommodation Scams | Edinburgh University Students’ Association

Which? have a guide below for responding to a situation like this:

What to do if you’re the victim of a bank transfer (APP) scam | Which?

Government scams

Scams where criminals pretend to be the authorities and contact you – common people they pretend to be are officials from the police, UK Visas and Immigration (UK Home Office), your home country’s embassy and your home government. 

Issues-based scam

The scammers pretend there are problems with your details in order to get you to tell them your personal and sensitive financial information. Sometimes, they will heighten the risk by saying you are at risk of deportation or involved in a crime. They may also ask you for payment at this time. Neither the university nor the Government will call you and ask you to pay on the spot in relation to an issue like this. Please double check the sources of any call you receive relating to these issues. 

Virtual Kidnapping

This is where the embassy of your home country/nationality contacts you to accuse you of a crime – they encourage you to cut contact with family and friends and extort money from you by creating an atmosphere of fear. This crime is commonly experienced by Chinese students, with the UK Embassy in China issuing a warning about it in 2018.

However it has grown during the pandemic, read about this in the article linked below:

Virtual kidnapping trend grows during the pandemic | Lockton

QR code scams

QR codes might be housed online or on offline spaces around campus but they are not always as convenient or trustworthy as you might think. Before scanning one, make sure that it has been sent or created by a legitimate source – and if you are unsure then don’t do it. QR codes can contain harmful links – a tactic called quishing that is commonly used to surpass security protections in emails, for instance, and allows criminals to send harmful content.

Around campus, you might see QR code stickers from various student organisations, societies and marketers promoting services and products for students, but don’t unscrupulously scan these if they look interesting. Consider whether it is more sensible to go to the source website by searching it, or looking more into something beyond the QR code if you are interested. Sometimes scammers can put harmful false QR codes on top of ones created by genuine, safe organisations.

For more information on keeping safe using QR codes, please refer to the Information Security team’s webpage:

QR Code safety tips |Information Security

Thank you for reading this article – I hope it provided some useful information for you as you navigate university life.

– Aysha, Digital Safety Intern at the University of Edinburgh.

Scam Awareness for Students / Digital Skills, Design and Training by is licensed under a