Coventry University Fraud alert – third parties offering students discounted fees

Coventry University has been made aware of fraudulent activity targeting overseas students joining universities in the UK. Students, parents and sponsors are being contacted by a third party that offers to pay a student’s fees on their behalf at a discounted rate. This could be tuition fees or accommodation fees.

The fraudulent third party receives money from the student, parent or sponsor via WeChat Pay, by taking cash to a contact person in China or paying cash to contacts in the street near their University. The fraudulent third party then uses stolen credit card details to attempt to make payments to the student’s university. These payments will be rejected or may be clawed back, leaving the student’s fees unpaid and their money transferred to the fraudulent third party and very difficult to trace or recover.

Students at Coventry University should only pay their fees through an approved payment method detailed on the payment page and must let Coventry University know if their fees are being paid by a third party (such as their parent or an official sponsor or other funder).

If students are concerned they may be the victim of this fraud they should contact the International Support team on +44 (0)24 7765 2010 or welfare.io@coventry.ac.uk.

Students should also consider taking steps to protect themselves against fraud (including but not limited to):

• Pay Coventry University directly only using approved payment methods; and
• Do not share your Coventry University student ID or personal information with anyone.

Further advice on fraud protection is available from UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) and the UK Government website.