The Student Loans Company has reported an increase in scam emails, targeting students’ last – and largest – loan instalment for the year. The Company has closed down a number of scam sites and are closely monitoring the new wave of phishing emails, which are being sent to students, sponsors and the general public.
The final student loan instalment in April is usually the largest that students receive for the year as it is intended to help cover the summer period. Payments for students in England and Wales are made at the start of term in September, January and April. Fiona Innes, Head of Counter Fraud Services at the Student Loans Company, said: “We want to remind customers that we will never request a customer’s personal or banking details by email or text message.
“Anyone who receives a scam email about student finance should send it to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., as this allows us to close the site down and stop students from being caught out.
“Online fraudsters are aware that students are receiving their funding this month and are targeting them and their sponsors with emails and texts requesting personal and banking details to access their finance.
“We want to remind students to stay vigilant with the details they provide online and to be mindful of the personal information about themselves they post online and on social media too." Over the last three Septembers alone, Student Finance England’s dedicated Counter Fraud and Security teams have prevented over £1.5 million of students’ initial maintenance payments being stolen through ‘phishing’ scams aimed primarily at freshers.