⏱️ Scammed or unsure? 60-second plan
1 · Protect money
Call your bank's fraud line now — the number on the back of your card. Freeze the card and ask them to reverse any payments.
2 · Keep evidence
Screenshot texts, emails, caller numbers and payment screens. Change passwords and turn on 2-step verification.
3 · Report it
Report through your country's official channel — see the report page.
📌 More help: Report → · Help & support
🇬🇧 🇪🇺
Visiting the UK or Europe? Scammers are waiting.
Tourists and students from the Gulf are prime targets — new to the country, carrying money, and unsure who to trust. This guide covers the scams that hit GCC visitors and students in the UK and Europe, with the official reporting routes.
🎓 Student rental fraud
Every September, student rental scams spike: real listings are cloned, photos swapped for AI-generated ones, and fake landlords push a holding deposit before you have seen the room. Never pay a deposit for a property you have not viewed (or had someone view for you).
📖 Tenant verification
UK guide with the 10-point checklist — from the CyberAware UK student series.
💼 Fake jobs for students
'£400 a week from home' adverts pay a small first sum to feel real, then ask for an admin fee or equipment deposit you never see again. Real employers never charge you to start work.
📖 Job scam checklist
How fake jobs work and the red flags — UK guidance.
📧 Urgent university fee emails
Emails pretending to be from your university threaten to revoke your place unless you pay an enrolment or accommodation fee immediately. Universities never demand urgent payment by email — call the official admissions number.
📖 Phishing guide
Spotting urgent-fee and phishing emails.
✈️ Holiday & booking scams
Fake airline, hotel and tour booking sites take payment and vanish. Flight-change 'fees' by SMS and lookalike airline domains are common — book only on official sites and apps.
📖 Holiday scam checklist
Booking-scam red flags before you pay.
🏧 Cashpoint & card traps
Skimmers on ATMs, 'helpful' strangers offering assistance, and card cloning at restaurants are classic tourist scams. Cover your PIN, use ATMs inside banks, and check for loose card readers.
📖 Card safety
Protect your card abroad.
🚖 Airport & taxi overcharging
Unlicensed drivers at airports quote absurd fares or take long routes. Use licensed ranks, ride apps with upfront pricing, and agree the fare before getting in.
📖 Travel awareness
Common transport rip-offs in UK cities.
🚨 Been scammed in the UK or Europe?
UK: report at reportfraud.org.uk (Action Fraud) or call 0300 123 2040. Emergency: 999 / non-emergency 101. Europe: report to the local police and your bank immediately — and contact your embassy. If money was sent, tell your bank in the UK or Europe AND your home bank in the Gulf straight away.
Full student scam series lives on the UK site: cyberawareuk.co.uk