Deakin University students have been sent scam texts after cyber hackers accessed the information of thousands of past and present students.

A university staff member’s username and password was used by a hacker on Sunday, allowing them to access information held by a third-party provider.

The hacker then used that information to send a scam text to almost 10,000 students, purporting to be from Deakin University.

Anyone who clicked on the link in the text message was taken to a form asking for details including credit card information.

The hacker also downloaded the contact details, including mobile numbers and email addresses, of 46,980 past and present Deakin students.

Deakin was able to stop any further text messages and began an investigation into the cyber attack, a statement from the university said on Wednesday.

The university has also reported the breach to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner.

It comes after the Australian Communication and Media Authority on Tuesday introduced rules protecting Australians from scam texts.

Telecommunication companies are now required to identify, trace and block text scams, and publish information to help their customers manage and report scams.

-AAP