What you need to know and how to get support

This post, relevant to all Queen Mary students, is from the Welfare Advice Team in the University’s Advice and Counselling Service. The advice about advance fee fraud comes directly from the British police, who have asked us to share the story with you. Read on for more details about this kind of scam and what you can do to avoid it.

Going to university is an exciting time, but it can also bring challenges with many students looking for ways to increase their income. It’s also a time when criminals can flood your social media and your inbox with a variety of ‘opportunities’ for cheap loans, cryptocurrency deals, job offers, prize winnings and luxury goods.

All you have to do to benefit from such incredible ‘one-time only’ offers is pay a small advance ‘administration’ or ‘registration’ fee. Paying the fee may unfortunately not only result in you paying money for non-existent services or goods but, in a sophisticated scam, your bank details may also become accessible to the fraudster.

When in doubt check it out and never pay by a Money Service.If you do decide to go ahead with a payment, protect yourself and pay by credit card.

If you are short of money, see our guidance for undergraduates and postgraduates on funding your studies, applying for hardship funding and planning a budget for both international students and home students. 

You can contact Advice and Counselling for a 1:1 confidential appointment on any practical and/or wellbeing issue by logging an AskQM enquiry, choose ‘new enquiry’, then select from the drop-down list. See our webpage for more guidance on how to contact us.

To find out more about scams and fraud, why not take a look at our online guidance which lists common scams affecting Queen Mary students and where to find support.