March 23, 2010

Help Prevent financial aid/scholarship fraud

Every year, millions of high school graduates seek creative ways to finance the markedly rising cost of a college education. In the process, they sometimes fall prey to scholarship and financial aid scams. On November 5, 2000, Congress passed the College Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act of 2000 (CSFPA). The CSFPA enhances protection against fraud in student financial assistance by establishing stricter sentencing guidelines for criminal financial aid fraud. It also charged the Education Department, working in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with implementing national awareness activities, including a scholarship fraud awareness site on the ED Web site.

You can help prevent financial aid/scholarship fraud by, in your consumer information, alerting students to the existence of financial aid fraud, informing students and their parents of telltale pitch lines used by fraud perpetrators, and by providing appropriate contact information.

According to the FTC, perpetrators of financial aid fraud often use these telltale lines:

* 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' or 'You're a finalist,' in a contest you've never entered

To file a complaint, or for free information, students or parents should call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or visit http://www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams

* Excerpt taken from the Federal Student Aid Handbook; Chapter 6: Providing Consumer Information.

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