AT the start of the 24/25 academic year, the Students Loans Company (SLC) is reminding students to be vigilant of smishing scams.

Scammers target students at this time of year as they receive their first maintenance loan payment. SLC is expecting to pay £2bn to students over the autumn term and last year it stopped £2.9m of maintenance loan payments being taken by smishing and phishing scams, where students received and acted on false communications.

Smishing, which is fraud involving text messages, is currently the most popular form of scam, with students usually being asked to click a link to complete a task – for example verifying bank details or confirming their personal information, providing an opportunity for a payment to be diverted to a scammer’s bank account.

SLC will never ask students to provide or verify their personal or financial information via email or text message, and Alan Balanowski, Risk Director at SLC, is urging students to pay attention to any communication they receive from Student Finance Wales (SFW) or SLC over the coming weeks.

He said: “Starting or returning to university is an exciting time, but it’s also busy, with students getting organised and set-up for the academic year, which includes dealing with information from different organisations, including ourselves. We aim to ensure our payment process is simple for students, but we do experience a rise in smishing scams at this time year. This means students need to be alert to any potential attempt to intercept their maintenance loan instalment.

“We have a range of preventive methods we use to target scams, but the most impactful tool we have is working together with students to stop scammers. If a student receives a suspicious message, they should delete it and report it immediately, but if a scammer does succeed in obtaining personal details, then we must collectively act quickly to spot and block the action”.

“Last year, we were able to stop £2.9m of maintenance loan payments ending up in the hands of scammers and we are focused on working as effectively as we can to protect students and their finance.

“Our message to students is quite simply, think before you click.”

SLC’s top tips

• Neither SLC nor SFW provide any services through WhatsApp and will never initiate contact with a student through social media channels, including Facebook, X, Instagram and Tik Tok, to discuss their application or student finance entitlement. If a customer receives a communication from SFW that they are unsure of, they should log into their online account to verify if it’s genuine.
• Check the quality of the communication – misspelling, poor punctuation and bad grammar are often signs of phishing.
• Keep an eye out for any suspicious looking emails, phone calls or text messages, especially around the time of an expected payment.
• Scam emails and text messages are often sent in bulk to many people at the same time and are unlikely to contain both a first and last name. These commonly start – ‘Dear Student’.
• Messages that convey a sense of urgency are also unlikely to be genuine – for example ‘failure to respond in 24 hours will result in the account being closed’.
• Think before you click. If an email or text message contains a link, hover over it to check that it goes where it’s supposed to. If in any doubt don’t risk it, always go direct to the source rather than clicking on a potentially dangerous link.
• Scammers can use a variety of methods to try and get students to pay money or share personal details, including the use of fraudulent phone calls, social posts and direct messaging on digital platforms. Always use official phone numbers, the online account and official communication channels to verify the contact received is genuine.
• Be mindful of the information you share about yourself on social media, and elsewhere online, to help guard against identity theft. Identity theft happens when fraudsters access enough information about a person’s identity, such as their name, date of birth, customer reference number, course information or their current or previous addresses to impersonate them online and over the phone.
• SLC or Student Finance Wales (SFW) send a text message to students in Wales if a change has been made to their bank details. If you haven’t changed your bank details and receive a message, contact us immediately.
• Check out our guide to identifying a scam at www.gov.uk/guidance/phishing-scams-how-you-can-avoid-them
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If a student receives a suspicious message, they should report it immediately by email [email protected] and to SLC by calling our dedicated hotline on 0300 100 0059. 

There is also a range of additional advice and information on recognising and avoiding scams from Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. 

Cymdeithas yr Iaith has criticised Ceredigion Council’s Cabinet for treating parents and residents “as obstacles” rather than as “partners” following last week’s (Sept 3) decision to continue with a consultation on the closure of 4 rural Welsh schools in the county.

In response, the movement will complain formally that the Council has gone against the Welsh Government’s School Organisation Code by enacting a presumption in favour of closing the schools.

Ffred Ffransis, from the Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Education Group, said: “Today we witnessed the Council treating the parents and residents who were present as obstacles to be defeated instead of seeing them as partners in community regeneration. With so many communities in the county already on the brink in terms of the Welsh language, can we afford to lose these schools, which are community centres and which ensure that the Welsh language continues as a living language?

“The Welsh Government’s School Organization Code clearly states that all options other than closure must be considered while proposals are still at a formative stages, with a presumption in favour of maintaining rural schools. No one can seriously claim that this process has been adequately carried out by Ceredigion Council, as the formative stage of the Council’s policy – which concluded that closure was the best option – took place behind closed doors.

“As warned, Cymdeithas yr Iaith will submit a complaint that the Council is not fulfilling its duty, has breached the School Organization Code and has acted with presumption in favour of closing schools. One of the Council’s officials insisted that the Government had confirmed that they did adhere to the Code, so we will also send a freedom of information request asking for correspondence between the Council and the Government on the matter, to see who has misled the public. “

HUNDREDS of free online and in-person courses, taster sessions and events are being offered across Wales to boost people’s career prospects, skills, confidence and wellbeing during Adult Learners’ Week from September 9 to 15.

Co-ordinated by Learning and Work Institute in partnership with the Welsh Government, this annual campaign turns the spotlight on lifelong learning opportunities in Wales.

Adult Learners’ Week coincides with the publication of Learning and Work Institute’s annual Adult Participation in Learning Survey which highlights the importance of continuously upskilling to either find a job, return to work or progress a career.

The survey also emphasises the impact of learning on health and wellbeing and building confidence to contribute to our communities.

Just under four in five (78 per cent) of current or recent learners said they are likely to learn in the future. Two in five (42 per cent) adults said they are likely to take up learning in the next three years and the same percentage would either like or need to change their career, industry or occupation in the next one or two years.

However, 70 per cent of adults who have not engaged in learning for the last three years reported at least one barrier to learning. The main barriers include work and time pressures along with the cost of learning, lack of confidence, being put off by tests and exams and feeling too old.

That’s why Adult Learners’ Week aims to make learning and skills opportunities more accessible to everyone and inspire people to discover how learning can change their lives.

The week provides an opportunity for people to embrace a second chance at education and work. Adults of all ages will be given a chance to start or resume their learning journey with new in-person courses and online sessions at entry level throughout September. 

Advice and information will be available locally to inspire people to take up learning as a way of increasing their employability, building life skills and improving their quality of life.

People can attend special events, sign up to courses and seek advice and guidance on the opportunities available for them to brush up their skills, improve their confidence and health and wellbeing, discover new hobbies and make new connections.

Everything from digital skills, arts and crafts, health and wellbeing, numeracy and literacy, to life and job skills, the environment, languages and social sciences will be on offer.

Joshua Miles, Learning and Work Institute Director, said: “Learning is a lifelong journey that can enrich our lives in many ways. We learn for many reasons – to improve our career prospects, for our health or wellbeing, to make us feel more confident or even just because we’re interested in something.

“Every one of us has the potential to learn something new and in doing so live a more fulfilled life. Now, more than ever, it is important that we support and celebrate adults in Wales who return to learning later in life in the hope of a brighter future.”

Some of the courses and activities available across Wales this year include:

• Museum Wales is holding a range of events during the week. The National Museum, Cardiff is holding a drawing group on September 10, The Fossil Swamp audio tour (Sept 12) and Clore Discovery Centre (Sept 13). St Fagans National Museum of History is hosting an introduction to enamelling and a mindful walk (Sept 10), leather stamping and painting (Sept 11), willow weaving bird feeders and a Welsh learners’ morning (Sept 12) and a sketching group and English leaners’ day (Sept 13).

• Cardiff and Vale College is hosting an Adult and Family Learning Event at its City Centre Campus in Cardiff on Saturday, September 14 from 10am to noon.
• Torfaen Adult Community Learning is delivering a range of inclusive lifestyle and leisure courses during the week, covering DIY, woodturning, preparing healthy meals on a budget, wellbeing and essential skills.
• In North Wales, Rhyl-based RCS Wales is creating a podcast on the importance of good mental health for boosting confidence and self-belief to take the next steps in achieving a personal goal – available from September 9 – and a live online training session on September 12 between 2pm and 3.30pm.
• Resource Denbighshire CIC is delivering four engaging activities themed ‘Be creative in the great outdoors’ focused on inclusion of disabled adults and those furthest from the labour market. Sessions include natural dyeing techniques for fabric and wood (Sept 9), nature search and clay impressions (Sept 10), habitats in nature and habitat home creation (Sept 11) and cyanotype photography (Sept 12)
• Anti-poverty, youth and community charity Swansea MAD is hosting a Learning Event on September 12, offering taster sessions on Microsoft Office, online safety and security and 3D design, as well as developing skills, building confidence and helping people to re-engage with future learning.
• In Mid Wales, Dysgu Bro Ceredigion Community Learning is delivering a range of taster sessions, including wildlife photography, using a defibrillator, staying strong and healthy, Internet safety and making a no-bake cheesecake in New Quay, Felinfach and Penparcau on September 9, 10 and 11.
• In North West Wales, Eryri Ambassador Programme, in partnership with Eryri National Park and Plantlife, is running an introduction to rapid rainforest assessments and management at Llanelltyd Village Hall on September 15.

To find out what’s going on during the week and for personalised advice on learning options and the support available, get in touch with Working Wales on 0800 028 4844 or search https://workingwales.gov.wales/change-your-story/adult-learners-week .

The achievements of amazing people, projects and organisations will also be celebrated during the week. For inspirational stories about lifelong learners, look no further than the Inspire! Adult Learning Awards which recognise those who have demonstrated a commitment to never stop learning. The award ceremony is being held at the Coal Exchange Hotel, Cardiff on September 10.

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People across Wales will be engaging with free learning opportunities during Adult Leaners’ Week from September 9-15.