SUSU warns of 'scams' as freshers bombarded with bogus tickets

A string of posts on unofficial Freshers’ Facebook pages have advertised events not endorsed by SUSU, putting prospective students at risk of losing their money and bank details.

Facebook is one of the first ports of call for new university students, as it offers an opportunity to interact with other applicants and to arrange Freshers’ activities.

Post on an unofficial freshers’ page, phishing?

The above post and its account has since been deleted, so we were unable to reach the company for comment.

The danger arises where people set up ‘Unofficial’ groups, as these are not moderated by the University and are often used by phonies wishing to sell tickets to alternative or simply non-existent events.

In some cases these sites may actually sell tickets to official or real events, but these will often be at inflated rates so that the creators can profit from freshers.

We got in touch with SUSU’s VP Welfare Sam Bailey, who said:

The only place to buy your tickets to the official Students’ Union events is www.susu.org, where there will be much more info soon. Be wary of buying tickets from other websites – there are plenty of scams around that will try to get your bank details! Our line-up of events is looking pretty amazing, so it’s well worth waiting until tickets are released!

Incoming students are advised to take care when buying anything that isn’t coming directly from the University of Southampton. The official Freshers’ page can be found here, and is probably the best source of up to date freshers’ information.

Unfortunately there is little SUSU can do to stop these unofficial pages, so the onus is on students to point each other in the right direction. Union President Ben Franklin said:

The unofficial pages are a nuisance, making the most of the excitement of freshers for their nefarious purposes and/or awful club nights. We’ve worked hard on putting together a programme and we’re doing our best to signpost Freshers to the right groups.

Don’t start your time at Southampton with a scam, stay safe and have an amazing Freshers’ week.