Watch out for this fee payment scam currently targeting students!
We have received reports that Deakin University students are being targeted by a fee payment scam. These scams are designed to take your money in a dishonest way, leaving your university fees unpaid.
The scammers will call, email, message or otherwise contact you, claiming to be associated with a financial institution. They will offer to give you a discount if you pay your student tuition fees through them, rather than paying the university directly.
The scammer may even appear to pay an amount towards your tuition to make the offer appear more genuine, but if you give them your money, they will reverse this initial payment, taking your money and leaving your university fees unpaid.
You should never pay your fees to a third party or agent. Only ever pay your fees through the valid payment options listen on your invoice.
Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.
Things to look out for
- If anyone offers you a discount or an extension on your university fees by email or phone, delete it or hang up. Deakin will never contact you about a discount in this way.
- If a friend recommends a fee payment scheme that offers you a discount or extension, don’t accept.
- Never share your Deakin student ID, StudentConnect username and password, credit card or bank account information with anyone.
- If you receive a phone call or email asking you to deposit money into a local bank account, ignore it.
- Don’t use a third party to pay your fees on your behalf.
- Look out for requests for payment in unusual methods such as bitcoin or gift cards – this is a common indicator of dodgy activity.
- Don’t respond straight away, especially if you’re feeling panicked. Always stop to think about a request before you open an email, click or download a link, provide personal information or give money.
Where you can get help
- If you have provided any money or think a scammer has your bank account details, contact your bank immediately.
- If you think you may have fallen for this kind of scam, please contact Student Central for advice.
- IDCARE can assist you if you experience scams and fraudulent activity. They can be contacted on 1800 595 160.
- If it’s an emergency or you are concerned for your safety, contact the police immediately by calling 000.
- To report a crime that is not an emergency, phone 131 444.
- If you receive a call or message of this nature, report it immediately to Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and ScamWatch.
- You can also contact Deakin’s cybersecurity team.
- Warn your friends, family and fellow students about these scams.
There are no consequences for reporting a potential scam – it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Other scams to watch out for
Please also keep an eye out for these common scams going around at the moment.
Phishing
‘Phishing’ is when a scammer sends fraudulent emails or texts pretending to be from organisations you know or trust to steal your personal information, money or even your identity. Before responding or acting, you should always be careful and confirm that an email has actually been sent by who it says it’s from.
Recent trends show that these phishing emails are becoming more targeted and more difficult to differentiate from the real thing.
- Check the Sender’s name and address. Ensure the sender’s email address is legitimate. Deakin emails will always come from an @deakin.edu.au email address. We are seeing a lot of Gmail impersonation scams so check both the name and address that the email is coming from.
- Watch out for suspicious attachments and links. If you aren’t sure about a link or attachment, better to be safe and do not click.
- Pay close attention to spontaneous and unexpected emails. Is the action being requested in a message normal or expected behaviour of the sender? Be wary of recipients wanting you to share your personal details or an email requesting you to make a payment not following Deakin’s payment processes.
If you receive a phishing or suspicious email, you can easily report it by using the phishing reporting tool in Outlook called Phish Alert or forwarding the email to [email protected].
Please be aware that you should only ever use a payment method listed on your invoice to pay your fees.
Fake social media groups
We’ve been alerted that there are a number of social media groups and pages that may be falsely presenting themselves as though they were officially supported by Deakin. Some of these groups may be trying to promote non-Deakin events or even contract cheating, so remain vigilant.
You can find the official social media channels of Deakin listed on our Stay Connected webpage. If you are invited to or come across a page or group not included here, then be wary.
Contract cheating scams
You may come across or be contacted by services offering to complete your assessments for you in exchange for money or for uploading your previous assessments.
Not only is taking up their offer of these services a breach of academic integrity and can put your studies at risk, but you may open yourself up to the threat of blackmail.
Authority scams targeting Chinese international students
The Victoria Police Financial Crimes Squad has put out a warning that international students, especially those from China, have been the target of scammers impersonating Chinese officials, police officers or courier services.
The scammers claim that your phone or identity have been used in a crime and will threaten legal consequences unless you make a payment to them.
They can use elaborate methods including calls from multiple people, video calls and appearing to be calling from an official phone number to seem more convincing.
Some resources on scams
Keep reporting those suspicious emails and continue to stay vigilant for scams! For more information on spotting a scam, visit the cyber security blog.
Stay up to date with the latest known online scams by bookmarking and regularly visiting Deakin’s Online safety and security webpage. You can also find more information about common scams targeting students via Study Melbourne’s website. You can also follow @scamwatch_gov on Twitter and subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts.
The ACCC’s Little Black Book of Scams is also a handy tool for recognising scams – it is available in various languages including Simplified Chinese on the ACCC website.