tech
February 2, 2026
Private school parents targeted by fraudsters stealing fee payments
Some families have lost up to £10,000 after being duped into sending money to fraudsters’ bank accounts
TL;DR
- Independent schools in the UK are being targeted by fraudsters seeking to intercept fee payments from foreign students.
- A survey of 100 independent schools found they had all experienced attempted or successful cyber-attacks, averaging once a year.
- The primary goal of these attacks is to divert fee payments to criminal accounts, with an average loss of £3,200 and some families losing up to £10,000.
- Parents of foreign students are more susceptible due to potential language barriers and missing scam email warning signs.
- Criminals often offer discounts for early payments and provide their own bank details to lure victims.
- The scam typically begins with a hack to obtain parents' email addresses, sometimes by targeting third-party companies.
- Fraudsters replicate official payment instructions with accuracy and time attacks around fee deadlines.
- Parents are urged to be alert to unusual payment requests, urgent demands, or invoices received at unexpected times.
- Verification of payment requests should be done through normal school channels, not via the suspicious email.
- Victims should contact their bank immediately and report the fraud to Report Fraud.
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