Category Archives: Scam Alert

Scam Alert, Support

Scam warming – BEWARE

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It has been brought to our attention that Indian students are again being targeted by scammers allegedly calling on behalf of the “Home Office”. They call the students and intimidate them, threatening with arrest and deportation, claiming that some formalities were not fulfilled by the student at the time of arrival in the UK and therefore the student was now a “criminal immigrant” and must apply for an AR (Alien Resident card).

The scammers ask for personal and financial details, and intimidate students into paying them large sums of cash via gift cards. They threaten students with arrest if the money is not paid or if the information is shared with anyone.

BEWARE – This is a very sophisticated scam! If they were to call you and you challenge their authenticity they may tell you to Google their phone number and verify their identity. They will have set up fake webpages and links to deceive you. They can be very forceful and authoritative in their tone, even more so if they sense that you are scared.

British Police or Home Office never contact students in this manner, and they never ask for money over the phone.

If you receive a call of this nature, please do not give out any personal details nor confirm any details they already have (passport number, address, family details).

Please do not download any software they ask you to on your phone or computer.

Cut the phone call and inform the police immediately.

If you are unsure, please feel free to contact International Experience Team on internationalexperience@shu.ac.uk or call us on 0114 225 3813.

If you have already been a victim of this scam – please contact Hallam Union Advice Centre (advicecentre@shu.ac.uk or call 0114 225 4148) as a matter of urgency.

Scam Alert, Support

Scam alert – phishing email warning

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A significant number of our students received a phishing email purporting to be from our Finance Department, but originating from student email addresses at another university.  The email said they had been awarded a grant and they needed to click on a link to go to a form to complete their details.

The link took them to a fake university-branded webpage, hosted on a compromised server in the US. The web page asked them for a large amount of personal data, including date of birth, mother’s maiden name, bank card details etc.  Further, on submit it took them to a subsequent page branded to the bank that they had entered, asking for further information such as telephone passcode, last transactions, etc. In other words, everything necessary to steal identity and get past bank online and telephone security checks. A sophisticated attack.

This was clearly targeted at our students, as the site was branded and no obvious reference to other universities on the compromised web server, but it is possible that others will see similar attacks in the next few days.

 The original email header looked like:

 Example fake (phishing) email

From: University of Xxxx <xxxxx@students.xxxx.ac.uk>
Date: 22 September 2017 at 13:38:24 BST
To: xxxxxxx@xxxx.ac.uk
Subject: You have been awarded a student grant

If you receive an email similar to the above, then please do not reply, click on any links or give any personal information.

If you are unsure, please feel free to contact the International Experience Team on internationalexperience@shu.ac.uk or call us on 0114 225 3813 for further advice.

Scam Alert, Support

Scam Alert – targeting International students

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Scam-Alert-graphic

Some of our international students are being called by scammers who claim to be from the ‘Home Office’.

The caller says they are from the Home Office and has the students full name, postcode in the UK and passport number, and asks the student to verify those details are correct.  The caller tells the student to go to the www.gov.uk website, and search for Home Office, and then scroll down to the bottom of the screen, so that the student can see that they are calling from the genuine Home Office number.  The caller ID on the student’s mobile, does show this number.

The caller then proceeds to tell the student they have not paid for an immigration service, and as a result have to pay a fine, or else they will be reported to the Police/or the Home Office who will detain them or deport them.

The caller becomes increasingly insistent and verbally aggressive, and as they have so much personal information about the student, the student often feels so pressured and terrified, that they pay up.

BEWARE – This is a very sophisticated scam! If they were to call you and you challenge their authenticity they may tell you to Google their phone number and verify their identity. Even the caller ID they use is the same as Home Office switch board number. They will have manipulated the electronics, webpages and links to deceive you. They can be very forceful and authoritative in their tone, even more so if they sense that you are scared.

British Police or Home Office never contact students in this manner, and they never ask for money over the phone.

If you receive a call of this nature, please do not give out any personal details (passport number, address, family details). Please do not download any software they ask you to on your phone or computer. Cut the phone and inform the police immediately. If you are unsure, please feel free to contact International Experience Team on internationalexperience@shu.ac.uk or call us on 0114 225 3813.

Scam Alert, Support

Scam Alert – targeting International students

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Some of our international students are being called by scammers who claim to be from the ‘Home Office’.

The caller says they are from the Home Office and has the students full name, postcode in the UK and passport number, and asks the student to verify those details are correct.  The caller tells the student to go to the www.gov.uk website, and search for Home Office, and then scroll down to the bottom of the screen, so that the student can see that they are calling from the genuine Home Office number.  The caller ID on the student’s mobile, does show this number.

The caller then proceeds to tell the student they have not paid for an immigration service, and as a result have to pay a fine (usually £1200 – £1520), or else they will be reported to the Police/or the Home Office who will detain them or deport them.

The caller becomes increasingly insistent and verbally aggressive, and as they have so much personal information about the student, the student often feels so pressured and terrified, that they pay up.

The calls seem to particularly target students from India and Sri Lanka.

BEWARE – This is a very sophisticated scam! If they were to call you and you challenge their authenticity they may tell you to Google their phone number and verify their identity. Even the caller ID they use is the same as Home Office switch board number. They will have manipulated the electronics, webpages and links to deceive you. They can be very forceful and authoritative in their tone, even more so if they sense that you are scared.

British Police or Home Office never contact students in this manner, and they never ask for money over the phone.

If you receive a call of this nature, please do not give out any personal details (passport number, address, family details). Please do not download any software they ask you to on your phone or computer. Cut the phone and inform the police immediately. If you are unsure, please feel free to contact International Experience Team on internationalexperience@shu.ac.uk or call us on 0114 225 3813.

Scam Alert, Support

Scam targeting international students

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We have been made aware that international students are being approached by an individual claiming to be SHU lecturer who has lost their purse and has no money for the train ticket home. International students are asked to give money with the promise it will be repaid the next day.

This is a SCAM. Please do not give money to such individuals, if you are approached then please do not give the individual any money or personal details (passport numbers etc.). The incidents have already been reported to the police, but if this has happened to you – please contact Hallam Union Advice Centre (advicecentre@shu.ac.uk or call 0114 225 4148) as a matter of urgency.

If you have any concerns, please feel free to call us on: 0114 225 3813 or email: internationalexperience@shu.ac.uk

Scam Alert, Support

Air BnB Email Fraud

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The Advice Centre at Sheffield Hallam has been made aware of email fraud linked to the Air BnB accommodation booking website. 

Please be aware when using this website that payments are made through the site and not via a bank transfer. 

Students are receiving emails from fake Air BnB accounts asking for payments to be made outside of the website to a personal bank account.

Air BnB’s terms and conditions state that this is not how they take payment. You can find extra guidance on this on the Air BnB website.

Always read the terms and conditions before making a payment online.  If you have any doubt when booking accommodation please come to the Advice Centre and an Advisor can talk you through how to spot fraud.

If you are worried you may have made a payment to a fraudulent account please come and see us at the Centre or visit the Action Fraud webpage for further details.

Follow this link to find out how to protect yourself from fraud.

Immigration, Scam Alert, Support

NEW SCAM – BEWARE!!!

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scam alert

It has been brought to our attention that Indian students are being targeted by scammers who call themselves “Crime Stoppers” calling on behalf of “Home Office”. They call the students and intimidate them, threatening with arrest and claiming that some formalities were not fulfilled by the student at the time of arrival in the UK and therefore the student was now a “criminal immigrant”. They may also claim that they have been asked by “Indian authorities” to arrest the student. The scammers ask for personal and financial details, and intimidate students into paying them large sums of money. They may claim this as being “home office fines” or as “bail bond for Indian authorities”. They threaten students with arrest and/or harm to their family in India if the money is not paid or if the information is shared with anyone.

BEWARE – This is a very sophisticated scam! If they were to call you and you challenge their authenticity they may tell you to Google their phone number and verify their identity. They will have set up fake webpages and links to deceive you. They can be very forceful and authoritative in their tone, even more so if they sense that you are scared.

British Police or Home Office never contact students in this manner, and they never ask for money over the phone.

If you receive a call of this nature, please do not give out any personal details (passport number, address, family details). Please do not download any software they ask you to on your phone or computer. Cut the phone and inform the police immediately. If you are unsure, please feel free to contact International Student Support Team on internationalsupport@shu.ac.uk or call us on 0114 225 3813.

If you have already been a victim of this scam – please contact Hallam Union Advice Centre (advicecentre@shu.ac.uk or call 0114 225 4148) as a matter of urgency.