Don’t let your guard down
It may still be the summer be the summer holidays but for hundreds of thousands of young people, the countdown to starting student life at university or college is well underway.
But in the midst of all the excitement that comes with independent living on or off campus, it’s still important to make sure you stay safe online.
For if you think scammers just target older people, you couldn’t be more wrong.
There are very specific scams developed to lure in young people and as a result the fraud protection service, Cifas, recorded a 30 per cent increase in ID theft cases affecting under-21s between 2016 and 2017.
Last year scammers chose the last few weeks of August and the beginning of September to send a fake email from the Student Loans Company just as students started receiving thousands in loans ahead of the new academic year.
The email said SLC accounts had been suspended due to incomplete information, in an attempt to trick victims into clicking a link to a fake website set up to steal personal information.
But while the email address looked legitimate, on closer inspection the email itself was riddled with spelling mistakes – a real telltale sign of a scam.
Scammers also target social media to get young people’s details as once a hacker sneaks into your account they can access all sorts of info – your address, phone number or birthday, all of which could be used to defraud you.
A recent scam via Whatsapp offered free Ryanair flights to users who shared the message with 15 friends, who were then asked to claim their tickets by providing their personal details.
Then there are the social media games such as “What’s your royal wedding guest name?” which trick you into giving away information like your first pet’s name, or the name of the street you grew up on. All common security questions required to change a password or log in to a service.
Remember it’s vital to report scams to Action Fraud. If you don’t report it, it’s less likely to be shut down – and more people will lose their money.
Send me your consumer queries to askalex@which.co.uk