Those of you that have college age and college ready children will want to take note of this article. Those that do not, you will still want to read this article to make sure you can help counsel someone else that is just entering into the world of higher education and learning all the great facets of financial aid.

People claiming to be employed by the Department of Education are calling unsuspecting families and offering them a large scholarship and/or grant. The kicker though - they are asking the family for a credit card to cover a $249 processing fee. As if college was not expensive enough, now you have scam artists trying to profiteer off of people’s longing to cover the educational expense for their son or daughter.

If you are a seasoned professional when it comes to college expenses and financial aid, you can disregard the following information. If you are new to the process, please read the following tips:

• The Department of Education will never contact you directly. They will work with and through the college of your choice to see what kind of aid might be available for you.
• If someone is offering you a “free” scholarship make sure you get all the details and understand where the funds are coming from and why you are a recipient (especially if it is not one that you have applied for).
• Avoid any scholarship conversations that include the following: “The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.”, “You can’t get this information anywhere else.”,”I just need your credit-card or bank-account number to hold this scholarship.”,”We’ll do all the work.”,”The scholarship will cost some money.”, “You’ve been selected by a ‘national foundation’ to receive a scholarship.”,”You’re a finalist.”
• Never give anyone your private bank or credit card information - especially when it is relating to a scholarship “opportunity”.

If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a particular scholarship offer, drop a call to your local financial aid office and run it by them. They are the professionals and work with this type of information every day and will be in the best position to give you clear and unbiased advice.

The Federal Trade Commission encourages families to notify them if you believe that you have been approached by a scholarship scam artist. You can contact them by sending an email to oig.hotline@ed.gov or by calling 1-800-MIS-USED.

Have any of our readers at SmartSecurityPeople.com ever encountered a scholarship scam artist? Any additional tips you would like to share for the good of the order?