Students across Britain are being warned to stay safe online after a spate of phishing e-mails from fraudsters aimed at stealing their first loan payment.

Half-a-million students are set to start university in the coming weeks, while those in their second and final years will also return, and cunning scammers know thousands of pounds will soon hit most of their accounts.

The fraudulent emails usually claim that failure to respond with personal information updates will see students lose or delay their September finance payment, a nightmare scenario for most.

The wave of phishing e-mails and text messages have been reported to the Student Loans Company, which is warning people not to fall victim.

The e-mail often purports to be from Student Finance England with branding images and comes with an embedded link in the text.

However, it is likely these contain vicious malware which can be used to access bank accounts online to swipe cash.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) is warning students not to disclose any details, respond to the e-mails or click the link.

The SLC is asking anyone who received a scam e-mail about student finance to send it to phishing@slc.co.uk as it helps them close phoney websites down and stop other students being caught out.

For more information about our work, please visit www.safeinwarwickshire.com/cybercrime

Be Cyber Streetwise is a cross-government campaign, funded by the National Cyber Security Programme. They aim to measurably and significantly improve the online safety behaviour and confidence of consumers and small businesses (SMEs).

Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading source of factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety. Their website offers advice on how you can protect yourself, your computers and devices, and your business against the likes of fraud, identity theft, viruses and other potential online problems.