The student loan scam looking to dupe already anxious students
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.
- Scammers target £2.6bn student loan payout with fake SLC texts and cloned websites
- £519,000 lost, 168 students defrauded last academic year, says SLC
- Never click payment links; log in via Gov.uk and report suspicious messages
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Anxiety around student finances peaks each September, when maintenance loans arrive to cover rent and living costs for the term ahead. That anxiety is exactly what fraudsters are exploiting: this year, criminals are sending fake messages pretending to be from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the public body that administers loans and grants to students in the UK, warning of "suspicious activity" and pushing recipients to a fake copycat website to steal their bank and login details.
Once scammers have those details, they can redirect a student's loan payment into their own account before anyone notices. This matters because the sums involved are large and the timing is precise, with around £2.6 billion due to be paid to 1.1 million students this month, making the period around the payment date a prime opportunity for opportunistic fraud.
The SLC and the government are using this moment to remind students of basic precautions, such as never sharing financial details by text or email and only logging in through the official Gov.uk website. Cases from the last academic year show that while most attempted frauds are caught before money is lost, some students have had funds stolen or personal details altered, which is why officials are keen to raise awareness before this year's payments go out.