Fake police scam targeting Chinese students

International students around the world are targeted by scams and this is true in the UK.

It is often the first time they have lived in the UK and they usually have large amounts of money in their bank account for tuition fees, accommodation and living costs. This makes them a prime target for criminals looking to trick them into transfering large amounts of money.

Recently, Chinese students living and studying in the UK have received calls from people claiming to be 'The Shanghai Police', 'The Beijing Police', 'The Chinese Embassy in London', or other official Chinese organisations. The people claim that there is a serious crime or problem involving the Chinese student and that the student is in serious trouble. The student is told that they may be deported from the UK back to Chinese and that they may face a criminal investigation unless they send the people money.

STOP! 

If you receive a call, a message or an email like this, either hang up or do not respond! You will not get in trouble for doing either.

Have you actually done anything wrong? Is there a legitimate reason why you should be transfering £1000s to people you've never met because you've done nothing wrong? The answer is no.

If you get a call, message or email like this, hang up or do not respond. Instead, log an enquiry through askUCL. Your message will reach either the International Student Support team or the UCL Security team. Both teams have a lot of experience identifying scams targeting international students. We will be able to advise you on what you can do next. 

It only takes a few minutes of your time to log an enquiry through askUCL but it can save you £1000s.