At UNSW College, we are determined to protect the safety of our students and advocate for the education of both staff and students to ensure our community is aware of schemes that are designed to act against our best interests.
A SCAM is a trick or a fraudulent way to get you to pay someone money, or to steal your personal information.
A SCAM can feel so real that if you are caught in a SCAM, you will genuinely believe that you are in trouble – or must pay money – otherwise something bad may happen to you or your family members.
SCAMS are very common and often target international students.
A SCAMMER is a person who pretends to be someone they are not – they are an actor pretending to work in a business, government, or authority role who will use very strong scare tactics to trick you into paying money or release your personal information, including personal address, passport or bank details.
A SCAMMER will often try to put pressure on you, scare you, or force you not to tell family members of friends about the situation.
Take the SCAM test – what will you do next?
What should you do if you are in a scam?
Please tell someone immediately – this may feel very hard to do being scammed is even harder in the end. The Student Wellbeing Team are very familiar with international student scams and are here to help you every step of the way.
Walk in: Level 1, UNSW College L5 Building
Email us: [email protected]
Meet us: Click here to book a confidential appointment
We will help you to report the scam to campus security, local police, banks or other organisations such as police on 131 444 or to Scamwatch.
Types of Scams
Read about how to spot a scam, what to do if you fall victim to one, and some specific examples of common and recent scams.
University-related scams
Over time, scams have evolved to become more specific, targeting university applicants and students. Be sure to verify any communications from UNSW College with Student Enquiries if you are unsure.
Fraudulent Offers of Study
There are reports of organisations falsely claiming to be the UNSW Admissions and Scholarships team or that they are working with the team. They send members of the public false admission or scholarship offers with a UNSW or UNSW College letterhead to trick people into paying an acceptance fee for a fake offer.
What to do
- We have an official network of agent partners and representatives with whom we work closely to provide support to future students. Find a list of official representatives here.
- If you are unsure of the validity of your offer letter, you can log onto the StudyLink Portal to check.
What’s being done?
The Conduct and Integrity Office (CIO) is working with UNSW Legal and Compliance to send a cease-and-desist letter and will separately report the matter to NSW Police.
Incorrect claims of unpaid tuition fees
Scammers may impersonate UNSW College departments or officials, and claim you have outstanding tuition fees that must be paid directly to a bank account. The bank details used for this phishing scam are not owned by UNSW College. The goal of this scam is to manipulate victims into transferring money to an individual that is not affiliated with the university.
What to expect
At UNSW College, information on payment methods and details can be accessed through your Student Portal. Our communications to you will also never include sensitive information such as bank account details when prompting you to pay for an outstanding fee.
What to do
If you receive an email or letter claiming late payments or outstanding tuition fees, look out for the following signs:
- Ensure the sender’s email address ends with ‘@unswcollege.edu.au’.
- Spot for spelling mistakes.
- Call-to-actions should lead to your Student Portal instead of personal bank accounts (i.e. containing BSB and account numbers).
Avoid clicking on links within the email if you are unsure about its validity. Check your Student Portal to verify the message or contact Student Enquiries to confirm the origin and validity of the email.
Discounted tuition fees
Scammers are using stolen credit cards to pay for an international student’s tuition fees. They pretend to be authorised agents of universities and offer to pay students’ tuition fees on their behalf at a discounted rate.
What to expect
Scammers would make the full payment to the university on behalf of the student and instruct the student to pay them the discounted tuition fee directly to the scammer’s bank account. The payment to the university would then be cancelled as the scammer has used a fraudulent credit card to complete the transaction.
What’s being done to prevent this?
The Conduct & Integrity Office (CIO) has reported these scams to NSW Police and the Australian Signals Directorate. We have put controls and protocols in place for these reports and have relayed this procedure to relevant areas of the University including Finance, Security, Registrar and reception.
The CIO is working with UNSW Protective Services and the Division of Education & Student Experience to warn students of the scam and to prevent further victims and fraud. A report is being prepared for the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA).
Academic record modification services
What to expect
Victims of this scam are usually approached by a person or ‘agent’ claiming to be from an educational organisation that focuses on helping underperforming students. They may also pretend to be students and join WeChat groups to look for their targets. The next step would then be to approach individual students separately by sending them friend requests.
Tips
- Decline friend requests from unknown users or suspicious accounts
- Be cautious when sending messages in WeChat groups
- Avoid sharing personal information on social media with strangers.
Contract cheating
Contract cheating companies, often disguised as tutoring companies, are known to take your money and cheat you out of the education you deserve. These contract cheating companies position themselves as being officially connected to UNSW College and can put you in danger of blackmail, identity theft, and being in breach of the UNSW College Student Code of Conduct and Values. They are not connected to the University in any way.
What to expect
Commercial academic cheating services are illegal in Australia, with penalties of up to two years in jail for anybody found to be providing this service. If you use cheating services, you could:
- fail your subject or course
- be suspended or excluded from university
- lose your visa
- lose your professional accreditation
- be blackmailed by cheating service operators.
Contract cheating scammers may also pretend to be students, attending campus and targeting international students to get them to sign up to groups on social media by scanning a QR code.
What to do
If you are being blackmailed, please report this to Student Enquiries as soon as possible. You can also contact Arc Legal & Advocacy for advice about academic misconduct and how to get help from UNSW.
If you require academic support, join Study Club to get support from peer leaders.
Financial scams
Financial scams can come in many forms, including credit card data theft, bank transfers, gift cards and many more. If you suspect that you’ve been engaged in a scam, secure your account and contact your bank immediately for support.
False rental property listings
What to expect
Scammers are advertising false accommodation through messaging services such as Kakao, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. These properties would then be inspected on behalf of the victim, which would turn out to be a holiday accommodation and not available for rent. These scammers would demand a bond and rental payments upfront for a property that they are not allowed to rent out to others.
Tips
- Never share personal information or send money to strangers.
- Avoid paying for a rental property by transfer or cash as these payments methods are difficult to trace.
- Pay bonds through trusted third parties such as NSW Fair Trading Rental Bonds Online, who will lodge and refund bond money securely.
- Use well-known platforms and research properties and agents – only use well-known platforms.
- Never pay upfront for a property before you’ve seen it in person – scammers may display impressive photos of properties or ask for a deposit before you’ve inspected it.
- Be cautious of properties with significantly lower prices than other comparable rental properties in the area or landlords who pressure you to sign a lease quickly.
- Understand your rental rights.
What to do
Speak to our Accommodation Support team or Arc – UNSW Student Life for advice on tenancy and rental enquiries.
Money mules
What to expect
- Victims are approached via social media, email, online pop-up ads or fake job offers (e.g. money transfer agents).
- The money being transferred is often used by criminals to fund other serious crimes like cybercrime, terrorism, and human trafficking.
- In Australia, participating in money muling is a serious criminal offence. If convicted, you can face anywhere from 12 months to life in prison.
Tips
- Reflect on whether the offer is too good to be true – be on guard.
- Do not engage with any online posts offering large sums of money.
- Do not share your personal and banking details with anyone you don’t know of trust, even among friends or family.
Sexual extortion
Sexual extortion (or sextortion, or image-based abuse) is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to share intimate personal images of you online unless their demands are met. These demands are typically for money, more intimate images or sexual favours.
What is considered as an intimate personal image?
The image does not need to be pornographic to be intimate. An ‘intimate image’ means an image (or altered image) of a person’s private parts, or of a person engaged in a private act where they would reasonably expect to be afforded privacy. Examples include showering, bathing, using the toilet, engaging in a sexual act, or any other similar activity.
What to do
If you experience sexual extortion, ensure you record communications as evidence:
- Save text messages, voicemail and/or photos, including dates and times.
- Use screenshots and save the image as the date and time it was taken (include the URL in the screenshot where possible).
- Do not pay or send any more images or videos yourself.
- Stop all contact with the blackmailer.
- Notify the relevant social media platform.
- Change the passwords for your social media and online accounts and review the privacy and security settings of your accounts.
- Get support from a trusted friend or family member, or from our Student Wellbeing team if you are feeling anxious or stressed.
- Report to the NSW Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or to your local police station. You may also call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Fraudulent job listings
What to expect
Official recruiters will never send unsolicited messages on encrypted messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Telegram or Messenger. If you receive a job offer without an interview, reference checks, and without submitting your resume, the offer is likely a scam.
What to do
- Avoid job opportunities that require upfront payments in order to be considered.
- Verify the business by contacting them through their official channels before proceeding with any opportunities.
- If your financial data have already been compromised, contact your bank immediately for further support.
Impersonation scams
Many scams are carried out by individuals pretending to be representing an organisation or government authority with the aim to get victims to send their money, give away their personal information, or control the victims.
Phishing
Tips:
- Do not click on any links unless the URLs are hosted on official domains. For example:
- unsw.edu.au/ or unsw.to/
- […].gov.au/
- Report or mark communications as phishing through your email platform.
- Delete and do not reply to suspicious texts, emails or posts.
Fake parcels
What do scammers want?
Victims are told they must transfer large sums of money to prevent themselves or any of their family or friends from being deported or charged. This is always a lie. Only the Australian Department of Home Affairs can cancel your visa or deport you. Any other organisations or authorities do not have the power to do this.
What to do
- Hang up immediately if you receive such a call.
- Report the incident to ScamWatch and NSW Police.
- Never provide personal, credit card, or online account details over the phone.
Groups with cult-like behaviours
There have been reports of groups recruiting students on and around campus under the guise of religious or social activities. These cults or cult-like groups would use concerning tactics and behaviours to keep members within their groups, making it difficult for them to leave. It may involve isolating members from their loved ones by trapping them in an intensive commitment.
Common techniques for recruitment
In the past, cults or groups exhibiting cult-like behaviours have targeted students and approached them on campus by:
- Asking personal questions for a survey.
- Offering coffee for a chat.
- Inviting students to free social group events.
Some of the behaviours or activities conducted by these groups have been reported to result in them isolating their members from their families and friends, verbal abuse, and causing sleep deprivation.
At UNSW, we want to ensure the safety of our students and the broader UNSW community. We advise that you remain vigilant when in public spaces and engaging with people or organisations that you don’t know.
Tips
- If you feel unsafe while conversing with people you don’t know, try to leave the conversation as soon as possible.
- Stay in public areas where there are always people around to observe any incidents.
- Flag down nearby security staff if they refuse to let you walk away.
What to do
Contact UNSW Security if you feel unsafe or would like to report an incident on campus.
Deportation & visa cancellation threats
Victims are instructed by a false authority or government official to pay a sum of money or risk being deported or having their visa cancelled. Some scammers may also be pretending to be from UNSW College.
Examples
- Immigration & visa compliance – pretending to be from UNSW College – example.
- Gift-card scams – with scammers blackmailing and threatening victims if they do not purchase gift cards and provide the codes over the phone – read more on the ACCC website and on the Apple website.
What to do
- Hang up.
- Do not pay any money.
- Contact Student Enquiries or your Consulate in Sydney for advice. Contact our Student Wellbeing team if you are feeling anxious or stressed.
- Report to the NSW Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or to your local police station. You may also call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
- If they have your bank details, contact your bank immediately.
- Warn your friends and family about this scam.
