Staying safe: fraud and crime targeting international students

It is very important to protect yourself from frauds, scams and crime. Email, phone and social media scams can often target international students. It’s important to take care of yourself. There are different support services that you may wish to contact.

UKVI Anti-Fraud
Anti-Fraud - UKVI will never ask for you to process a payment by phone, email or through bank transfer

What is a scam?

A scam or fraudulent scheme is planned and carried out by a dishonest individual or criminal group, in an attempt to obtain large amounts of money and sensitive personal information.    

These can be very sophisticated and convincing. They use impersonation techniques, fake signage, fake telephone advisors, stolen data or personal details to make you believe in the situation.

UKCISA guidance on frauds and scams

How to protect yourself and stay safe

You can help protect yourself by being aware of the common features of many scams targeting international students:  

  • The person contacting you may appear to be genuine and convincing because they have some limited information about you (for example, your passport number, your telephone number or name). 
  • The scammer may give you their name and telephone number, to try to convince you they are genuine.  
  • They may impersonate UKVI and say that there is a serious problem with your immigration status. They may request that you need to pay a fine or send a payment. Sometimes scammers can warn you about the cancellation of your visa. This is a common technique to make you panic and become pressurised into paying money or providing personal information.  
  • If you receive a suspicious e-mail do not open it or any attachments. You should report the email to the University’s IS helpline. On the email itself, next to the ‘Forward’ button, you have the option to “forward as an attachment” click this and forward the email to is.helpline@ed.ac.uk You should not send a screenshot or forwarded copy of the email, as this will not prove the required data.   

 

Visa, immigration and embassy scams

If you receive unexpected contact from an embassy or visa official, it may be a scam. Especially if you are threatened, blackmailed and asked to send large amounts of money in a short space of time. 

If you are unsure on their actual identity of the person, you should not send any money or take any urgent actions. You should not respond to the e-mails, and do not answer any phone calls - if you are suspicious or unsure. 

You should be aware that:  

  • UKVI/Home Office (part of the UK government) officials will never ask you to send money via bank transfer. UK visa application fees are paid online at time of application and are processed on an secure online payment service. 
  • Fake websites are designed to look like official ones for the UK government or its official visa enquiry services. Official UK government websites always have ‘.gov.uk’ at the end of their website address 
  • Official UKVI addresses are always in this format: name.surname@homeoffice.gov.uk  Sometimes the email address you see on the screen of a fake website or email is in that format, but when you click on it, it creates an email that will be sent to a different address. Always check the actual address on the email you are sending. 
  • National embassy staff would not contact you for any UK visa related matters.

Always contact our team for support and advice on these matters.

What to do if you are the victim of a scam

If you think you have been a victim of a scam, please contact our team as well as the Security team and we will be able to advise on the next steps.  

Contact the Student Immigration Service 

Contact the Security team 

Financial scams and fraud guidance

EUSA Harassment, Safety and Crime support

Useful resources

Report an incident of harassment, discrimination or gender-based violence

Report and Support:

  • If you make a named report using the University Report and Support service, the Intercultural & Anti-Discrimination Adviser may be able to meet with you online or in person to discuss your support needs and provide signposting to other useful services. Other services may include the University Student Conduct team, Security and the Police. Please allow time for this adviser to review and respond to your report. 
  • The Report and Support service, wants to know what is happening to students on campus and in the city. You can also choose to report anonymously if needed.
  • Report and Support is a University service and not to be used for emergency reasons. If there is an immediate risk of serious harm, please call the emergency services - call the Police on 999.

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