UK Police Charge Six in Major Student Loan Phishing Scam

U.K. police arrested six people on Thursday for allegedly running a phishing scam that stole an estimated 1.6 million (US$2.6 million) from victims who had taken out student loans. The group is alleged to have sent out e-mails asking people to update details on their student loan accounts, providing a link to a website that purported to be legitimate, according to the Police Central e-Crime Unit, part of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Using the information, the gang then allegedly transferred between 1,000 and 5,000 at a time from students' bank accounts. Police began investigating the scam in August, saying a great deal of personal information was "cleverly" exploited.

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