Tuition-Payment Portal Phishing
A fake 'bursar' or 'student accounts' message says your tuition payment failed or is overdue and links to a portal that steals your login and payment details.
Think a message like this reached you? You can check it right now.
What this scam is
Students receive emails or texts that appear to come from their university's bursar or student-accounts office, warning that tuition is overdue, a payment failed, or enrollment will be dropped unless they pay through a link. The portal is a phishing page capturing student-portal credentials and payment details, or diverting a tuition payment to the scammer. Because deadlines and enrollment holds are real stressors, students act fast. Pay only through the official student portal.
What it usually looks like
- A 'tuition overdue / payment failed' message from the 'bursar.'
- A link to pay or avoid being dropped from classes.
- A fake portal login and payment page.
- Urgency about deadlines/enrollment.
Common warning signs
- Payment links to non-official (non-university) sites.
- Pressure about enrollment holds.
- Requests for portal login and card together.
- Slightly-off sender addresses.
Example wording scammers use
“Your tuition payment failed. Pay within 24 hours to avoid being dropped from your courses: tuition-pay-portal.net”
“Student Accounts: overdue balance — log in to settle now.”
These are illustrative examples written by ScamSplain, not real messages.
What the scammers want
- Your student-portal login.
- Your card/bank details or a diverted tuition payment.
- Access to your student account.
What to do
- Pay tuition only through the official university portal (typed/bookmarked).
- Verify any notice with the bursar's office directly.
- Enable two-factor on your student account.
- Report phishing to your school's IT.
What to do if you already responded
- Change your student-portal password and notify IT.
- Contact your card/bank about payments.
- Report at reportfraud.ftc.gov.