Avoiding the Scholarship Con Artists

It happens every year. High school seniors and their parents are defrauded by scholarship scammers; people who promise to help them land scholarships and financial aid they wouldn’t otherwise receive.

One financial aid organization believes these scammers defraud families out of more than $100 million dollars a year.

They do it by preying on families worried about the cost of college; families who know little or nothing about scholarships and financial aid; families who are often easy targets.

First, families receive a letter from an organization with a name designed to sound like it was founded to help the families of college-bound students.

The letters look good. The letterhead design, the font style, and other elements are calculated to give the appearance of an established, legitimate organization. And, that can be all it takes to fool families…to get them to take the next step on the path to being scammed.

In nearly all the letters they send, the con men begin by reinforcing families’ fears about their ability to meet college costs.

Once they have stated the problem…paying for college…they assure you they can provide the solution. They may offer to “teach you the secrets of financial aid”, “locate millions of dollars in unused scholarships”, or otherwise help you take advantage of their special expertise.

Not all scammers use identical enticements in their letters, but they all conclude with an invitation to a free “seminar” on how to qualify for maximum scholarships and financial aid. So, families who believe they have nothing to lose flock to hotel meeting rooms, business centers, and sometimes even churches or library function rooms to listen and learn. Like insects landing on a spider web, they never see the trap coming.

The meetings are run by well- practiced pitchmen who tell families they have the special knowledge and experience required to shake the most money off of the financial aid and scholarship trees. In reality, they want to sell you services and help which are readily…that’s right, readily… available elsewhere. At no cost.

After the group presentation, families are invited to meet individually with staff members sometimes called counselors. In the world of sales, these folks are called “closers”…folks trained to close the sale. Their job is to get families to sign a contract and pay a fee of up to $2,000 before leaving. Unfortunately, they succeed all too often.

Its sad. And, it happens every year. Dont let it happen to you. Get all of your financial aid advice from your school counselor, college financial aid office, and reputable publications and websites.

Most important of all, never pay anyone for financial aid advice or services. Never.