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Protect Yourself from Scholarship Scams

Protect Yourself from Scholarship Scams
7/10/2008
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Scholarships.com Staff

Each year, thousands fall victim to scholarship scam artists. With the costs of a college education rising annually, it should come as no surprise that certain individuals choose to take advantage of the situation by establishing fraudulent financial aid organizations and competitions.

Students who visit our site can rest assured knowing that the information provided to them at Scholarships.com is completely free of charge. We will never ask visitors to pay for the college scholarship search, and our financial aid information is completely cost free. Before posting award details on our site, we screen scholarship providers carefully; any scholarships deemed suspicious are immediately removed from the Scholarships.com database.

The federal government is also working to crack down on scholarship crime, regularly monitoring scholarship abuse. The Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act of 2000 has made more severe the punishments for scammers, and it has called for a mandatory report of scholarship scams to be prepared annually by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Secretary of Education. This report, including the names of current defendants in scholarship scam allegations, may be found on the FTC website.

Be on the lookout for the signs of scholarship scams listed below and report any suspicious behavior to the provided contacts.

Scholarship Scam Warning Signs

o Organizations promise scholarships for an upfront fee.

o Organizations ask students for a scholarship application fee.

o Organizations promise to complete applications and obtain scholarships for the student.

o Organizations say their scholarship information cannot be found anywhere else (most reputable awards are listed publicly; providers want you to apply!)

Report Suspicious Scholarship Behavior to: US Department of Education Office of the Inspector General 1-800-MIS-USED; Better Business Bureau (BBB) 1-703-525-8277; Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 1-202-FTC-HELP

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