Be wary of fraud and scams

Scams are varied and sometimes difficult to identify. They are often a phone call, email or text from someone pretending to be from a legitimate organisation such as a bank, HMRC, Royal Mail or a delivery company, the UKVI, police or an embassy.

Be suspicious of anyone contacting you unexpectedly and asking you for personal or payment details. Their aim is to get you to reveal private information such as account numbers, passwords and other personal details. An official organisation will never contact you to ask for this information. Employers should not ask you for money when you apply for a job.

International students can be specifically targeted, often by people pretending to be from a government organisation, embassy or police. These scams often involve you being told you are suspected of being implicated in criminal activity and being instructed to pay large amounts of money. These scams are designed to frighten you into sending money due to the fear of being deported or investigated and possibly arrested. You may be told you must download software to be monitored.

If you think you are being targeted:

• Do not give the caller/sender any personal information or click on any links to verify your details
• Do not confirm that any information they have is correct
• Do not make any payment or take any other action such as moving your money to a different account
• Never download any software to your laptop or phone
• Report the incident to a member of staff at UCA and speak to Campus Life who can help you report the matter to Report Fraud.