Loan firm warning for East Lancashire students (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Loan firm warning for East Lancashire students

1:40pm Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News

SECURITY experts at the Student Loans Company are warning North West freshers that disclosing personal details online could lead to finance fraud.

The Freshers’ Week study showed that 57 per cent of North West students starting university this month will invite most new people they meet to be Facebook friends, and a third will give their phone number to fellow students.

Most freshers have met just over half of their Facebook contacts and consider only 25 per cent or less as close friends. However, this does not prevent them sharing personal information on their page such as their date of birth, email address and phone number.

Males are at higher risk of student finance fraud than females as they are significantly more likely to make their profile public, accept anyone as a ‘friend’ and are less vigilant with personal details. Students are often targeted at the three main instalment dates in September, January and April.

Tips for safety include creating strong passwords and updating them regularly, be cautious with the personal information posted publicly, be careful who you befriend and keep up to date with changes to social network settings.

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