The phishing email is designed to gather personal information from loan applicants ahead of the new academic year.

The email says that the Student Loans Company account has been suspended and details must be updated, before leading to a fake website.

The emails are deliberately timed to coincide with the new university term, said City of London Police, who run Action Fraud. Students should be suspicious of any email that asks for sensitive information such as passwords. Emails may also contain typos or rogue capital letters, designed to trick spam filters.

How to spot a phishing scam – TechRepublic gives its ten top tips:

1: The message contains a mismatched URL

2: URLs contain a misleading domain name

3: The message contains poor spelling and grammar

4: The message asks for personal information

5: The offer seems too good to be true

6: You didn’t initiate the action

7: You’re asked to send money to cover expenses

8: The message makes unrealistic threats

9: The message appears to be from a government agency

10: Something just doesn’t look right