Adult Learners

Avoid Scholarship Scams

We've put together the following tips on how to avoid common scams:

• No processing fee is required to get financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education.
• Never provide a bank account or credit card number over the phone unless you initiate the call and trust the company you're calling.
• Legitimate organizations only need information such as hobbies, past grades or other demographic information.
• Search firms cannot "guarantee" scholarships or complete the application process.
• Although a business may say millions of financial aid dollars go unclaimed each year, most of that is employer-paid benefits that are unavailable to many students.
• For information about preventing financial aid scams, visit StudentAid.ed.gov/lsa.

Free Information

For free, reliable information about the financial aid search process, contact the financial aid office at a local college, university or career technology school. Financial aid seminars may also be sponsored at a nearby high school or higher education institution.

Been Scammed?

If you think you've been scammed and need to report or file a complaint, take the following steps:

• Immediately contact your bank, explain the situation and request that the bank monitor or close the compromised account.
• If you think you've already been scammed by a financial aid search firm, report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC has an online complaint form and a hotline at 877.FTC.HELP (877.382.4357 or 866.653.4261 for the hearing impaired). Once you file a complaint:
  • The FTC will investigate if the fraud is widespread. Therefore, it is important that every student contacted by the person or people in question lodge a complaint so the FTC has an accurate idea of how many incidents have occurred.
  • Provide detailed information about the incident, including what was said, the name of the person who called and from what number the call originated.
  • If unauthorized debits have already appeared against the student’s bank account, the student should mention this fact in his or her complaint. Records of such debits could be useful in locating the wrongdoer.
• Report the fraud to ED’s Office of Inspector General hotline at 800.MIS.USED (800.647.8733) or oig.hotline@ed.gov. Special agents in the Office of Inspector General investigate fraud involving federal education dollars.