Back-to-school remains a popular period for scammers trying to steal money and data from both parents and students alike. However, things are trending for the worse with advanced tools, particularly AI and deepfakes. Now these attacks can be produced more easily and quickly, on a larger scale, and fraudulent content is increasingly believable.

On top of that, scammers often focus on smartphones as a combination of smaller screen size and the convenience of phone use makes, for example, phishing attacks four times more successful.  

For students, and for parents of minors, this highlights the necessity of understanding the new tricks scammers have up their sleeves, and the need for reliable cybersecurity protection capable of stopping attacks in their early stages before any data or finances are lost.

Scams to watch out for

So, let’s look at some of the most common scams targeting smartphone users during the back-to-school season:

Phishing – A school needs your details, now!

Attackers try to deceive individuals into downloading malware or revealing their sensitive information mostly via messages that appear to be from a trusted institution or person, which create a false sense of urgency to prompt the targeted victims to act quickly.

In the context of the back-to-school period, scammers often try to impersonate school representatives, for example, communicating that targeted students are eligible for financial aid, or that their school accounts have expired.

Delivery scams – Your delivery failed to arrive!

Expecting higher online shopping activity, scammers may send fraudulent messages pretending to be from legitimate delivery service providers. Usually, they claim that a delivery has failed, and that either your personal/financial information or payment of a small fee is required. Delivery scam messages may also contain a link for downloading a parcel tracking app, which is, in fact, malware.

Online shopping scams – You won’t find better prices!

Scammers often create entire fake, but believable, online shops or copycats of legitimate online markets to trick visitors into buying non-existent or fake products, such as clothes, electronics, or school supplies. Of course, these feature the usual great discounts and too-good-to-be-true offers needed to entice potential victims.

ESET researchers have documented advanced variations of this scam, where cybercriminals offer both support services and automated bots, allowing novice criminals to scam people en masse with ease. This method allows less-skilled scammers to create their own fully automated fake websites, fraudulent messages, and interactive chatbots with on-the-fly language translation, and more. 

Advanced fee scams – You’re eligible for benefits, but we just need a small fee!

Advanced fee scams involve fraudsters describing and promising a benefit – such as a scholarship, student loan forgiveness, or back-to-school vouchers – in exchange for an up-front payment. However, there is in fact no benefit, and the fraudsters usually disappear after the “fee” is paid.

Student tax scam – A student tax is owed; pay or face consequences!

Students (or their parents) who are heading off to college may encounter fraudulent messages in which scammers pretending to be from the government claim that there is a student tax that requires payment. However, the claimed tax does not exist; it’s an attempt at fraud, and, following any successful collection, the scammers disappear.

How to stay safe

Students and parents should be aware that the back-to-school season is an attractive time for scammers. Stay vigilant; read messages similar to the examples shared above carefully, and check the sender’s email address, the content of the message, any attached links, and so on. Don’t make hasty decisions.

Because scams are becoming more sophisticated and smartphone users are more susceptible, students and parents shouldn’t rely solely on their ability to spot a scam attempt. Having reliable smartphone protection based on a prevention-first approach is essential.  

ESET Mobile Security for Android can defend users against a wide spectrum of mobile threats, including malware, phishing links, and physical theft. See what’s inside:

Android antivirus with 24/7 scanning – Users are protected against malicious app installs and other malware. The antivirus can also check all files and device folders available via USB on the Go connections.

Anti-Phishing – Protects against malicious websites attempting to acquire your sensitive information – usernames, passwords, banking information, or credit card details on most popular Android browsers. Also, ESET Link Scanner can recognize phishing links coming from apps such as in-game messages.

Payment Protection – This feature adds an extra layer of security to apps like Google Pay or your mobile banking app. When active, Payment Protection prevents malicious apps from reading, modifying, or overlaying content on your protected apps – helping to stop phishing attempts and data leaks.

Anti-Theft – This feature logs all unauthorized attempts to unlock the phone or screen, and changes of a SIM card. The user is then notified via email. The Anti-Theft feature also tracks a missing device.

Try ESET Mobile Security, now at 50% off!

Prepare for school without worries

Preparations for going back to school can be stressful, and the last thing students or their parents want is to deal with extra problems related to being scammed. Purchase school supplies, browse the internet, and communicate online with peace of mind, with ESET Mobile Security.