The Civil Guard warns of the “tuition payment” scam: be very careful because they leave your account at zero

The Internet has become a place where users can encounter scams of all kinds after every click, download they make, or message they receive. And while it is true that cybercriminals have thousands of potential victims, that does not mean that tomorrow will be your turn, and to avoid falling into their traps, it is best to know what you are exposing yourself to and how you can avoid it.

This is why the Civil Guard is alerted of a new campaign that is taking place through email and It has the risk that it could affect any young Spanish student or their family members. This is because attackers usually opt for platforms, services or movements that are widely used by users to multiply their chances of hunting someone down with one of their tricks.

As we said, the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) has detected a rise in a scam that impersonates any Spanish university to carry out the “tuition scam” which consists of a fraudulent email in which the supposed university indicates that the student’s tuition payment has yet to be paid.

The message informs you that you must make the payment by bank transfer to an indicated account number and, subsequently, send proof of said transfer to an email indicated in the body of that email. In the messages you can see how they try give a feeling of alarm to the user who receives it, making him believe that if he does not pay he may face a lawsuit, in addition to Set a deadline of a single day for making that payment.

It is also indicates that a reminder of the pending payment was previously made of the student’s tuition fee (even if you have not received anything), and that, If it is not settled, the file will be sent to the litigation department. Examples of impersonations of the University of the Basque Country, the Universitat-de València, the Autonomous University of Madrid and even emails that only indicate the pending payment of registration but do not pretend to be any educational entity.

Solution to avoid this scam

If you have received an email with the characteristics mentioned, but you have not responded to it, report it to the corresponding university service department so that it spreads and the rest of the students are aware of the fraud in order to stop it. Once done, mark it as spam and delete it from your inbox.

In the event that it is already too late, what you should do after reporting it and alerting your bank is:

• Check your account movements in the following weeks to be able to immediately identify and cancel any suspicious transactions.
• Collect all available evidencesuch as emails and screenshots of the process.
• Provide all this evidence to the State Security Forces and Bodies to file a complaint if necessary.
• Practice egosurfing to verify if your personal or banking information has been published on the Internet.
• If you doubt the authenticity of a communication from your university, you can Contact the secretary of your center so that they can verify if it is a fraud.

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