New research produced by NatWest shows that a third of students have encountered a scam in the past year.

This is according to NatWest’s 2023 Student Living Index, which revealed that fraud is a major issue for students.

Delivery scams are the most common kind of fraud that students have encountered over the past year, with 14% having experienced this scam, according to NatWest’s annual survey of over 3,000 students.

Other common scams targeting students include social media and HMRC tax scams, while the instances of bank scams decreased significantly from 2022, with only 10% of students encountering this type of scam.

In contrast to last year’s results, women were slightly more likely to have encountered a scam in the last 12 months and over twice as likely to lose money to fraudulent activity, while the amount of money lost by a victim of fraud was around £80.

The top location for student scams this year was Bournemouth, with 44% of students having been the target of a scam. Last year’s most targeted city, Edinburgh, and Oxford were next in the rankings, with 41% of students encountering a scam with over four in five in each of these areas having experienced fraud.

While students in Bristol and Leicester were the least likely to be subjected to fraud, one in four students had still encountered a scam.

The NatWest Student Living Index surveyed over 3,000 students across the UK. Students were asked a range of questions, on fraud and scams, how much they spend on essentials such as food, rent and bills, and how much time they spend studying, working, and socialising.

Jaimala Patel, head of NatWest student accounts, said: “It is really important that students remain vigilant and are on their guard when they receive an unexpected text message, email or phone call asking for personal details.”

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NatWest also released a series of tips for students to be mindful of to become fraud-proof.

These include being sceptical of unsolicited messages asking for bank details, and not giving these away easily, as well as using unique passwords for banking and online retail sites.

The bank also told students to be careful of social media investment scams, as they often use fake celebrity endorsements and get rich quick promises.