Students and parents should be careful to avoid scholarship services
that use the pretense of scholarship information as a means of engaging students and parents in providing their personal or financial information.
Be careful when searching for information on student financial aid.
Make sure information and offers are legitimate.
Don't fall prey to fraud.
Estimates show that families lose millions of dollars to scholarship fraud every year.
The College Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act helps protect against fraud in student financial assistance. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cautions students to look for these telltale lines:
- "The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back."
- "You can't get this information anywhere else."
- "I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship."
If you feel you have been the victim of a scholarship scam and would like to file a complaint,
or if you would like more information about scholarship scams, call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
The TTY number is 1-866 653-4261. Or visit the Federal Trade Commission website at www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams.