Identifying Scholarship Scams

  (photo from flickr user jepoirrier) A new article on scholarship scams is out in the most recent edition of The CostcoConnection. It provides helpful tips, including some information from College Parents of America.  
post-thumb

A new article on scholarship scams is out in the most recent edition of The CostcoConnection. It provides helpful tips, including some information from College Parents of America.

The whole article is worth a read (you can do so here), but below are a few of the key points.

  • College Parents of America warns that scholarship scams often use tricky, official-sounding names. If you’re unsure of the quality of the scholarship funder, use reputable sources like National Scholarship Providers Association or Scholarship America to investigate further.
  • Per Mark Kantrowitz, founder of FinAid.org and publisher of Edvisors, “If you have to pay money to get money, it’s probably a scam.”
  • Beware of free seminars, first-come first-serve, and money-back guarantees.
  • Beware of scholarships that can’t provide full background on past winners.
  • Scholarship scammers are very often aiming to get obtain key banking information. Be wary of “scholarship holds” that requires any sensitive bank account or credit card information.