Fake tax scam warning for university students

Students Losing Money In Bogus Scholarships Schemes

Many university students were targeted by fraudsters who offered fake tax refunds. They asked the student to give various details to claim the benefit. 

Such criminals want to steal the identity-related details of the person to get their money and make purchases through their set-up direct debits and even control their systems by downloading harmful apps into their machines. 

In addition, they seek access to the personal computers and mobiles of the victim to control the webcam activities. Some such fraudulent sites offer recalculation of tax refunds. 

They ask the client to click on a link and submit the form to claim the refund, where they may ask the user to fill in their details like date of birth, gross income, driver's license or  PIN. 

They leverage several tactics, like sending malicious messages to the client to deploy the malware into their devices. Additionally, they send artificial authentication communications to persuade the person to enter their login credentials into the link sent by the malicious site.

They may adopt other models where students struggling to pay the tuition fee are offered scholarships for a small fee. The students and their families are invited to seminars and schemes that promise scholarships, financial packages or grants. The cons claim they can get grants but may become untraceable once they get the upfront fee. 

Some request you to send a gift card or wire transfer or make payment through cryptocurrency to get monthly payment of the scholarship or government grants, or they may send threatening messages that the authorities will revoke your driving license, arrest you, and send police to collect your child's tax credit payments or due bills. 

One may get such calls on mobile devices because the attackers know that people access the work email on mobile and may send time-bound emails or WhatsApp messages.

Students in the UK in Exeter, York and Edinburgh were targeted by a group where more than 4 in 5 students received bogus messages claiming entitlement to tax rebates. 

They were asked to fill in personal information to clear the payment. Some victims unquestioningly trusted unregulated firms to seek rebates, but the illegitimate tactics of unauthorised firms created higher tax liabilities.  

How To Spot It?

It is typically free to get a scholarship in the US and Canada. In the UK, you need to examine all such offers. Be aware of the unsolicited scholarship schemes where you are promised to get a grant from the organisation you had not applied for. 

It would be best to ask such groups/organisations questions like where they got the email address, how they know your name and the related contact information. 

• HMRC sends individual emails to users for multiple reasons but never sends text messages to get personal or financial information. If you are offered any deal, take time to finalise your options and ask questions about the offer to the firm's representatives. 

• Be aware of the success stories and testimonials given on the website. The emails sent by the fake website appear authentic and professional, and it may be difficult to tell the difference between authentic and bogus. 

• Ask your friends and family about the institutions or the offers made by the website.

• You should be aware that checks offered by any organisation can bounce when you produce them, and they cannot be considered workable unless you get the funds transferred to your account. One should avoid emails/messages where one must act in haste and within the time limit.  

How To Search For Valid Grants/Scholarships?

• Search on trusted websites and pay through debit/credit card. Avoid deals from unknown sources that look too good to be true.

• If the organisation wants you to transfer money from your bank account to their account, avoid it. 

• Do not provide personal details or fill out forms offering shopping vouchers or gift cards.