UNIVERSITY students are being targeted by scammers with fake tax refunds in an effort to steal money and personal details, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned.
Queen's University Belfast students are among those HMRC has urged to be on their guard after receiving numerous scam reports.
HMRC said it is the "largest direct attack" it has seen on students, with thousands of fraud attempts being reported in recent weeks across the north and Britain.
The scammers use seemingly legitimate university email addresses, such as @uc.ac.uk, to avoid detection.
Often HMRC-related scam emails spoof the branding for 'gov.uk' and well-known credit cards, and may use the recipient's name and email address within the message itself.
MP Mel Stride, financial secretary to the British treasury, said: "HMRC will never inform you about tax refunds by email, text or voicemail. If you receive one of these messages it is a scam. Do not click on any links in these messages, and forward them to HMRC's phishing email address.
"Although HMRC is cracking down hard on internet scams, criminals will stop at nothing to steal personal information. I'd encourage all students to become phishing aware – it could save you a lot of money."