Keeping your information secure

Keeping your personal data safe may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you're starting uni.

But there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure your information is secure, whether its your essay due next week or your card and financial details.

Common scams targeting students

Fraudsters often target students to access your money or information. Be cautious of offers of easy money or discounts. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never hand out your full personal details or login details to someone who's contacted you. Here are some scams to watch out for: 

Tuition fee payments

A third party offers to process your fees and pass your money on to the university, sometimes offering incentives, discounts of attractive exchange rates to tempt to you send them your money. However they instead steal your cash and don’t pay your fees. Sometimes they send you a receipt showing the full payment made, but it's likely this is faked.

We do not offer incentives or discounts for payments through a third party. We strongly advise that payments for your fees are either made by yourself or an immediate trustworthy member of family. If you make a fake or fraudulent payment, the University will hold you responsible and could de-register you from your course.

You should only ever pay the University directly through the official ways to pay. If in doubt, or if you have any questions about paying your fees, contact our friendly Income team directly via income@port.ac.uk, or by calling +44 (0) 23 9284 5533 Monday to Thursday between 10.00am and 4.00pm or Fridays between 10.00am and 3.00pm. 

Essay mill blackmailers

Companies offer to write assessments for payment, and then try to blackmail you, threatening to report you to the University. If at any point you need more support with your assessments, contact your lecturers or Personal Tutor for advice, or get help from teams like the Academic Skills Unit.

If you’re being threatened with blackmail, seek confidential support from the Students' Union and the University’s Student Wellbeing Service and block any direct communications from contract cheating companies.

Money muling or money laundering

Students are offered payment in exchange for receiving money into their account and then transfer it on. Money laundering is a serious criminal offence and if the University is informed of, or suspects, fraudulent payment activity, we will take appropriate action. Don't be tempted by promises of 'easy money' online.

Scammers posing as University staff

Some students have been approached by callers who claim to be from their university's Finance team, telling them they've been a victim of bank fraud, and trying to get personal information and money. If you get a similar call, do not give any details or make any payments over the phone. Instead hang up, and call the Student Finance team directly for advice.

Common scams targeting international students

UKVI contact

Someone claiming to be a real organisation such as the Home Office/UKVI or HMRC contact you and tell you that you need to pay a fine because you have broken rules or not followed guidelines. These organisations would not contact you in this way and would not ask you to pay any money to them. The fraudsters may be calling you from what looks like a genuine number.

Do not give them any personal information or make any payments to them. Ask for a number to call back and check it online against official government websites. For further information and advice on what to do please visit the UKCISA website.

Keep your accounts, data and devices safe

Use strong passwords

You should use strong passwords to keep your accounts and information protected. Protect yourself from someone accessing your account without your permission by:

• Including capital letters, numbers and special characters such as an exclamation mark or hash in your passwords
• Not using the same password for multiple logins
• Pay attention to what websites you're typing your passwords and personal details into
• Using 2-step verification through your phone where possible
• Using a pin or fingerprint to unlock devices

Back up your data

Whether it's your notes from yesterday's lecture, revision for tomorrow's exam or your final year thesis submission, the last thing you want to do is lose your work.

A stray glass of water can be the end of your laptop and all the work you've saved on it. Storing your data on a cloud-based system like Google Drive lets you access the same info on more than 1 device.

You can also make sure your information is better protected by using encryption. The files you store on Google Drive are automatically encrypted, and you can use FileVault to encrypt all files your keep on your Mac device.

Install security and antivirus software

Security and antivirus software is one of the most important ways you can keep your computer protected. Without security and antivirus software, you leave your device open to malware and adware, which can install unwanted software on your browser or computer.

Security and antivirus software can protect you from most malicious software and potential hacking threats. But you still need to be mindful of what you're accessing when online.

Virtual private networks

Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a great way to stay better protected online. It creates a secure, encrypted connection to the internet that masks your device's identity and location. It's handy if you regularly access public wifi networks at coffee shops or use your card online. You will need to use the University's VPN to access many services.

To stay secure, make sure you:

• Use up-to-date antivirus software if you're using a Windows machine
• Install the latest updates on your Mac, which includes security software
• Use a malware scanner to scan your computer for anything your antivirus might have missed
• Always remember that if something looks suspicious, it's best not to click it

Phishing and scam emails

You or someone you know has probably received a random email promising easy money.

These are phishing emails – emails designed to make you click on them or to enter your personal information. There are loads of these emails around, and not all of them will be automatically filtered out of your inbox and into your junk folder.

What is phishing

Phishing is a cybercrime in which an attacker tries to gain valuable information by disguising emails, instant messages or other communications as being from a trusted source, such as a friend, family member, workplace or even from the University. Cyber criminals aim to fool you into handing over valuable information such as passwords, PIN numbers and account numbers.

They may also demand money from you to release information valuable to you (such as your University work, or photo/video library). Once an individual falls for a phishing scam, usually by clicking on a fraudulent link, hackers will install malicious software or steal personal information from their computer. 

Phishing targeting students

Students have been targeted with phishing emails relating to academic misconduct.

The University will only ever contact you about an academic misconduct issue via your university email account. 

How to check if an email is a scam

Some are more subtle than others, but here are things you can do to check if it's a phishing email.

• Check the sender’s email address - does it look like it’s come from a valid email address of someone you know?
• Check for spelling and grammar errors - most phishing emails contain spelling mistakes and/or bad grammar.
• If you are not expecting the email and there is a link or an attachment, do not click on the link or download the attachment.
• The greeting is probably impersonal, such as 'Dear Student'

Communications with a sense of urgency that ask you to act now, or emails containing links which may not appear to be as they seem, may also be warning signs of a phishing attack. Always remember that emails sent by colleagues, friends and family should be treated with caution, especially if you are not expecting an email from them or if their email contains unexpected attachments. These emails could be coming from a hacked account. 

If you've come across a phishing email, don't click on anything in the email or enter any of your details. The best thing you can do if you receive one is to delete it.

If the email is impersonating someone from an official body, such as your university or Student Finance, report the email to an authority. Scam emails about Student Finance should be sent to phishing@slc.co.uk. If you’re unsure, contact the IT Service Desk on +44 (0) 2392 84 77 77 or visit the IT Helpers in Library, Portland, Richmond and Park buildings to ask for help.

Secure banking and online payments

When you're buying something online, be cautious:

• Check the web address you're purchasing from is legitimate – if it begins with 'https://' and has a padlock symbol then you know it's a more secure site
• Use an online payment service rather than your card when making purchases – there are extra buyer protections and you aren't putting your details into the site directly
• If you can, use thumbprint or mobile verification when making purchases
• Don't log into your accounts or enter card details on public computers or networks without a VPN

More advice to stay safe