Six Ways to Spot a Scholarship Scam
Posted 17 Sep, 2007
A while ago I posted some information on three common scholarship scams—ways that parents and students are victimized by fraudulent scholarship offers. Today I want to offer you six tips about how to catch scholarship scams before you waste your time and money. The following is a list of phrases and terms that the both Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) agree indicate a fraudulent scholarship offer (remember to watch for variations on these, too):
- “This scholarship will cost some money.”
People or organizations offering legitimate scholarships want to help students pay for college—they will not ask you to pay money to apply or to receive a scholarship.
- “This scholarship is guaranteed or your money back!”
First of all, no scholarship is guaranteed. Even if you are the only entrant, you still can’t be sure you will receive a reward—it is all up to the awarding organization. Second, it is highly unlikely that you would be able to get around all the terms and conditions sufficiently to actually get a refund from the company that is offering it.
- “We will do all the work.”
Students are required to fill out scholarship applications themselves; no one else can do that “work” for you.
- “You have been selected by a national foundation to receive a scholarship.”
If your student has not applied for a scholarship, it is very unlikely that he or she will win a scholarship.
- “May I have your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship?”
You will never have to give out this information to receive a legitimate scholarship.
- “You can’t get this information anywhere else!”
Scholarship information is available in a multitude of different places, from local libraries to your counselor’s office. There are also some reliable online scholarship searches that operate for free, such as the BBB-approved ScholarshipExperts.com
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
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A while ago I posted some information on three common scholarship scams—ways that parents and students are victimized by fraudulent scholarship offers. Today I want to offer you six tips about how to catch scholarship scams before you waste your time and money. The following is a list of phrases and terms that the both Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) agree indicate a fraudulent scholarship offer (remember to watch for variations on these, too):
- “This scholarship will cost some money.”
People or organizations offering legitimate scholarships want to help students pay for college—they will not ask you to pay money to apply or to receive a scholarship. - “This scholarship is guaranteed or your money back!”
First of all, no scholarship is guaranteed. Even if you are the only entrant, you still can’t be sure you will receive a reward—it is all up to the awarding organization. Second, it is highly unlikely that you would be able to get around all the terms and conditions sufficiently to actually get a refund from the company that is offering it. - “We will do all the work.”
Students are required to fill out scholarship applications themselves; no one else can do that “work” for you. - “You have been selected by a national foundation to receive a scholarship.”
If your student has not applied for a scholarship, it is very unlikely that he or she will win a scholarship. - “May I have your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship?”
You will never have to give out this information to receive a legitimate scholarship. - “You can’t get this information anywhere else!”
Scholarship information is available in a multitude of different places, from local libraries to your counselor’s office. There are also some reliable online scholarship searches that operate for free, such as the BBB-approved ScholarshipExperts.com
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe by Email
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