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| Home » Paying for College » Search for Scholarships » Scholarship Scams |
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Scholarship ScamsCollege bound students should be wary about the potential for scholarship scams. If you are solicited by a company offering to help you obtain scholarships or apply for aid for a fee, think carefully and check references before committing to anything. All the information you need to search for scholarships and apply for financial aid is available from reputable sources for free. Here are some traps to avoid: Free seminar. It may be legitimate or it may be a hidden sales pitch. You can't find this information anywhere else. Yes, you can. They don't know about anything that you can't learn on your own. "You're a finalist!" or "You've won!" a contest you never entered. The caller offers to hold your award funds in return for your credit card or bank account number. Hang up! First come, first served. This may apply to some legitimate forms of financial aid, but not to scholarships. However, legitimate scholarship sponsors do impose deadlines. Millions of dollars go unclaimed. False! Every legitimate scholarship sponsor predetermines award amounts and works very hard to select the most qualified recipients. It's guaranteed! What's usually guaranteed is search "results"—not scholarship money. We can show you how to conduct your own first-rate search. We'll do the work for you, for a fee. The fee may be nominal and the offer may come from someone sounding official, so make sure you do your research before paying anyone to do a search for you. Protect Yourself. Before doing business with a scholarship search company:
To report a potential scam, contact the
National Fraud Information Center at 800-876-7060 or the
Federal Trade Commission at: |
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