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Students urged to ‘stop and think before you click’ as student finance payments begin

ended 01. September 2026

As students across the country prepare to start or return to university, The Student Loans Company (SLC) is urging them ‘stop and think before you click’ when responding to any unusual messages or communication about their student finance.

In September, SLC is scheduled to pay approximately £2.6 billion in maintenance support to 1.1m students. Scammers use this busy payment period to send convincing text messages, emails, or make phone calls claiming that a student’s payment is at risk.

These messages are made to look like that they come from a trusted organisation and may say that a payment has been blocked, bank details need to be updated, or an account will be closed unless the recipient acts immediately.

Students are being reminded that SLC will never ask them to provide or confirm personal or financial information by email, text message or any social media platform. Anyone who receives an unexpected communication should avoid clicking links and instead sign in to their student finance account through GOV.UK.

  • How dangerous are these scams?
  • How easy is it to fall for them?
  • What advice do you have for students?

Responses asap.

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Nouran Moustafa
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
These scams are dangerous because they attack students at exactly the moment they are most vulnerable: they are expecting thousands of pounds, rent is due, university is starting and a message saying “your payment has been blocked” creates instant panic.

That is why even very switched-on students can fall for them. Fraudsters do not need you to be stupid; they just need you to be rushed for 30 seconds.

My rule would be brutal: if a text or email about student finance contains a link, do not touch it. Close it, go to GOV.UK yourself and log into your account from there. SLC says it will never ask students to confirm personal or financial information by email, text or social media.

Scammers manufacture urgency because urgency kills judgement. Your student loan can wait five minutes while you check. Your bank account may not recover as easily.
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Antonia Medlicott
Founder & MD at Investing Insiders
These scams are extremely dangerous for students, with the goal being to obtain both your bank information and your login information for student finance portals. Armed with this information, scammers stand to gain a great deal from accessing these accounts, stealing cash and diverting funds all whilst targets think that their money is safe.
If you don’t know the signs of scams, falling for them can be very easy. They’re designed to make you feel scared and pressured, like you need to fix the issue now, which can lead students to make lapses in judgement and give up their details.
Look up the phone number or email address being used to contact you, as ones associated with scams will often have been flagged before, and compare these contact details with the ones available on the site for the organisation claiming to contact you. This check can save you thousands. If you’re ever unsure of something or feel like you’re being pressed to hand over information, trust your gut and report it.
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Harvey Dhillon
Founder & CEO at Zmartly
We see this trick aimed at business payments: a message asking for the bank details on file to be changed. For a student the danger isn't only the money, it's where the loss ends up sitting. On bank transfers, the rules that get your money back are built around two things: money taken out of your own account, or you being talked into sending it yourself. If a fraudster gets into your student finance account and swaps the bank details, neither has happened, and the payment is paid away before it ever reaches you. Who carries that loss isn't clear, and that gap is the dangerous part of this. Falling for one doesn't take carelessness, because these arrive when your payment is genuinely due, which makes the message look ordinary. So sign in yourself and check the bank details held on your account, not just the message that worried you. Forward the scam text to 7726 while you're at it.
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Francis West
CEO at Security Everywhere
These scams are genuinely dangerous, not just annoying — with £2.6 billion landing in student accounts this September, fraudsters know exactly when to strike, and a text claiming your payment is "blocked" arrives at the one moment a stressed student is most likely to react without thinking. That's what makes them so easy to fall for: the message is timed to panic, not to persuade. The single most reliable check is this — the Student Loans Company will never ask you to confirm your bank details or click a link to "unblock" a payment, by text, email or phone. If any message asks you to do that, it isn't them. Stop, close it, and log into your SLC account directly rather than through any link you've been sent.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Managing Director & IFA at Mather and Murray Financial
These scams are financial bear traps laid right at the moment students are most anxious, distracted and desperate for their maintenance loan to land. That makes them extremely dangerous. A convincing text saying your payment is blocked can trigger panic, and panic is exactly what criminals are selling. It is frighteningly easy to fall for, especially when the message looks official and arrives during a genuine payment window. Students should treat any urgent demand for bank details, passwords or account confirmation as radioactive. Do not click the link, do not reply, and do not trust caller ID. Go directly to your student finance account through GOV.UK, check there, and report anything suspicious. One careless tap can hand scammers the keys to your money, your identity and months of financial misery.