Common Scholarship Scams and How to Avoid
Scam 01: “The Small Fee”
What is the scam:
Scholarship organization or donor requests that you pay a small fee in exchange for an opportunity to win big! Woohoo..wait, aren’t scholarships supposed to be free money!?
Why it’s a scam:
Scholarships ARE free money, meaning you never have to pay them back nor should you be spending money to apply to them.
How to not be scammed:
Never pay money to apply for a scholarship. Even if it’s “just a small fee”.
Scam 02: “Personal Info”
What is the scam:
Scholarship organization or donor requests that you send in your credit card number, banking information, and/or your social security number to apply to their opportunity.
Why it’s a scam:
Your social security number should never be shared with an unknown/untrusted source as it is extremely private information. Additionally, scholarships are free to apply to so no payment information should be required for the application.
How to not be scammed:
Don’t share sensitive info (credit card numbers or banking) in your application! Never give your social to an unverified organization.
Practice your ABCs—Always Be Cautious. Don’t freely enter private information. Do your googles if you’re unsure! (head to Scam #04 to learn how to verify a site/organization)
What’s the exception:
Some older, more established scholarship organizations might still ask for social security numbers in their application. This is rare but ALWAYS verify whether it’s a real scholarship or not. These types of organizations would have a LONG history of awarding scholarship winners and they should have countless articles and information that can validate that the organization and scholarship are real. Always research!
Scam 03: “Too Good to be true”
What is the scam:
Scholarship organization or donor promises that you’re guaranteed their scholarship or they reach out and claim that you’ve won a scholarship you never applied to
Why it’s a scam:
Nothing good in life comes that quick or easy. These are often scams designed to get additional information or money out of you. They may claim to need a small payment upfront to give you a larger sum of cash or ask for private information from you.
How to not be scammed:
Don’t trust “guaranteed” scholarships. Don’t accept a scholarship from an unknown source that you never applied to.
Scam 04: “Who are you?”
What’s the scam:
A scholarship organization or donor allegedly has a scholarship opportunity but when you look them up you can’t verify anything about them
Why it’s a scam:
To avoid being scammed, you should never share information with an unverified source. Verifying that scholarship opportunity is real is an important step to ALWAYS stay safe
How to not be scammed:
Verify that a scholarship is coming from a legitimate organization/business/website before entering.
ALWAYS research organizations by searching for outside articles/media. You can search for “Is (insert name of organization) a scam", "(insert name of organization scam", or similar search terms to read through various articles/threads to see what people are saying about them.
You can also reach out to your counselors or teachers that may be more knowledgeable on scholarship opportunities.
Verify that a social media account is real before following and/or sending or responding to DM’s.
Scam 05: “The Snakes”
But wait, there’s more (unfortunately!) There are some sneaky tactics people use in the scholarship world that aren’t necessarily scams but they will finesse you out of your time, money, and sanity.
To learn more about how to avoid all types of scholarship scams and snakes: pop into the video below!