Company poses as University of Oxford’s agency under police investigation

Seoul police are investigating a local firm for falsely advertising itself as the University of Oxford’s affiliate in charge of admissions. 

“The University of Oxford has promoted countermeasures against the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. It launched the ‘Oxford Graduate School Management Center’ in South Korea in charge of helping international students, especially from Asian countries with their preparation for graduate school admission,” the company introduced itself on its website, which has since been taken down. It had said the center would be in operational from Dec. 15 over the next five years. 

It charged prospective Oxford applicants some 8 million won ($6,700) to apply for the UK university. 

According to local news reports, the fraud was first discovered by a grad student who directly contacted Oxford after coming across the Korean company’s website. 

In response, the school’s admissions division issued a warning, saying it had not set up such a center and has no relations with the purported firm.

“It seems like a new form of fraud targeting students. (The University of Oxford) already reported the case to the British Embassy in Korea,” the school was quoted as warning prospective applicants in Korea. 

By Choi Jae-hee (cjh@heraldcorp.com)