Scammers are all over the place on the internet including Scholarships. Many students cheat by fake scholarships because they lack of information. Let’s me straight this thing and make to be simple to understand… “You need money and the scammers want your money”, so don’t spend your money to someone you did not recognize out there. Just invest your time and spent your money ONLY for a postage stamp.
Here are several “NO” cautions you must understand to avoid the scammers take your money:
NO Pay:
If they ask you to PAY with such terms as "processing fee", "guarantee fee", "origination fee", "insurance fee" or "default fee", they probably scam.
NO Guaranty :
If they guaranteed your application winning, they scam.
NO Claims:
If they claim everything so it’s sound too good to be true such as : influence of scholarship sponsors, high rate success to winning your application , make an easy way for you to get scholarships, an approval or recommendations from the funding, they scam.
NO Apply:
Avoid websites that promise you to apply scholarships for you. You should do by yourself to submit applications, write essays and solicit letters of recommendation to win a scholarship. If you meet such word:”We apply on your behalf”, “We Apply For You”. They scam.
NO Telephone Number:
Scammers usually use email and rarely include a phone number because it is easily traced. They scam
NO Proof of The Winners:
If the organization can’t give record of list of the scholarship winner, be caution that “the scholarship” probably be a scam except new scholarships programs. But, if they said that the company is new, it could easily be a scam.
NO Phone Call Notification:
Legal scholarships generally notify the winners by mail, so be very careful when you get a call that told you about winning of scholarship. Ask their identity (name, occupation and phone number) then visit the scholarship’s official website and contact the sponsors. Verify the identity of the person who called you, are those of one of their representatives. If legitimated, call them back.
NO Time Pressure:
If you have to responds quickly about their offer, it might be a scam. Every scholarships program has their own schedule so nobody will push you to do quickly.
NO Specific Criteria:
All scholarship sponsors are looking for specific candidates. There are several scholarships which are not depending on academic merit, athletic prowess and minority student status, but set of the restrictions always applies. If they tell that all student are eligible, they are scam.
NO Unusual Request:
If the application asks you about credit card numbers, bank account numbers, calling card numbers or social security numbers to "verify your identity", "confirm your eligibility" or as a "sign of good will", forget them! It’s a scam.
NO Professional Support:
If the support officer have no professional attitudes like swears at you or becomes abusive when you ask questions, they might be a scam.
NO FIFO:
There’s no first in first out, first come first serve also scholarships given on a rolling basis. Investigate all questionable scholarships before applying. Be cautions.
NO Apply but Win:
If you call by someone and tell you that you “won” a scholarship which you are not applied. Hang up immediately because after that they ask your money.
NO Clearly Return Address:
If the return address is a mail drop (e.g., a box number) or a residential address, it is might a scam.
NO Professional Appearance Application:
If the application materials contain errors at grammar typing and spelling or lack an overall professional appearance such as uses a lot of hyperbole (e.g., "free money", "win your fair share", "guaranteed", "first come, first served", “unclaimed scholarship” and "everybody is eligible"), be careful they scam.
NO Clearly Answering-Information:
When you make a phone call and ask your questions but they answer with nonspecific information like a runaround or repeat the same lines again and again, the caller is probably not understanding or reading a standard pitch from a boilerplate script. They scam.
NO Unsolicited Offer:
There are NO unsolicited opportunities – Scholarship sponsors will not normally contact you unless you have first contacted them because they will only contact you in response to your inquiry. If you called by someone from a “scholarship” that you never contacted or you've never heard of the organization before, it's a scam.
NON PROFIT:
Scammers try to establish “trust” by pretends to be non-profits organizations. The company’s name with words “fund” or “foundation” in it doesn’t mean that they are a true non-profit organization. It probably a for-profit business …or might be a scam!
NO Federal Agency:
Don't trust an organization just because it has an official-looking "governmental" seal as its logo or has a prestigious-seeming Washington, DC return address. Check them first whether there really is a federal agency with that name. Scammers use a performance look like federal organizations in order to gain your trust. Beware!
