A university student is warning youngsters to steer clear of student scams, which offer people attractive incentives, but actually leave individuals with heavy financial consequences.
Alice Schweigert, who was herself swindled out of hundreds when her bank details got into the wrong hands, wants to educate youngsters about the pitfalls of getting embroiled in bogus schemes promising the chance to make quick money.
The 20-year-old, who is studying Philosophy and Psychology at Hertfordshire University, has teamed up with Fixers to produce a short film showing that fraud such as this is a serious crime and can have repercussions later in life.
‘My card details were copied and were used to spend about £400 online, which was devastating because you feel like you can trust people and then this happens.
‘Although I got the money back a few months later, it shows how easy it can be for people to take advantage. But it's not just by stealing your information, there are many scams that students need to be wise to.
'For example, some people will offer to pay for your accommodation if you hand over half the money for it.
‘In actual fact they’ll pay it off using a stolen card, which will eventually come back to you and I know many people who have been trapped by this.’
Alice’s film uses different scenarios to show how even those who may be oblivious to any wrongdoing, could in fact be involved in fraudulent activity, which can have dramatic consequences later in life.
She wants to share it with schools, colleges and universities to make young people more aware of these dangers.