|
What's legit |
What's not |
| The provider sends information about awards only after
you request it. |
The scammer offers you an award for which you did not
apply. |
| The matching service never guarantees that you will win
an award. |
The scammer guarantees that you will win an award. |
| The matching service knows that financial aid
information is available for free in financial aid offices, libraries,
and on the Internet. |
The scammer says you can't get the information anywhere
else. |
| The application requires only information that is
relevant to the award. |
The scammer requires personal financial aid information. |
Phoney Claims from Scholarship-Matching
Services
"Everybody is eligible."
While scholarships are based on a variety of
merits and needs, some set of restrictions
always applies since sponsors are looking
for candidates who match certain criteria.
"We have a 96% success rate."
The success rates some services advertise
indicate the percentage of students they've
successfully matched with the database, not
the % who actually receive money.
"Our database is unique."
Many scholarship databases overlap because
they use similar methods to put together
their pool - and many services buy their
lists outright from a third party.
"You must use our service to qualify for
aid."
Matching services don't control who wins a
scholarship; they just match you to a list
of awards.
If you suspect a scam...Any
of the following organizations can help:
National Fraud Information Center (NFIC)
PO Box 65868, Washington, DC 20035,
1-800-876-7060
Better
Business Bureau (BBB)
845 Third Ave, New York, NY 10022,
1-703-525-8277
Federal Trade
Commission (FTC)
Room 200, 6th Street & Pennsylvania Ave, NW,
Washington, DC 20580, 1-202-382-4357
US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)
Inspection Service Operations Support Group,
Attn: Mail Fraud
Ste 1250, 222 S Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL
60606-6100
http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/ContactUs.htm
