The UK government is warning students to be alert to a phishing scam that exploits the annual student loan payout, as fraudsters attempt to steal maintenance loan funds by tricking students into handing over their bank and login details. Scammers send fake texts, emails or calls claiming to be from the Student Loans Company (SLC), often alleging suspicious activity on an account, then direct victims to a cloned website where entered details are harvested and used to divert real payments before the theft is spotted.

This September, around £2.6bn in maintenance support is being paid to 1.1 million students, with payments in England and Wales made in three instalments while Northern Ireland and Scotland pay monthly. In the last academic year, £519,000 was lost to 168 defrauded students, while more than 1,100 people had their details altered, though most cases were stopped before money changed hands. The SLC says it never asks for financial details by email, text or social media, urges students to log in only via Gov.uk rather than clicking links, and advises reporting phishing emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and scam texts to 7726; victims of fraud should be able to get a replacement payment.