On Nov. 5, 2000, Congress passed the Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act to enhance protection against fraud in student financial assistance establishing stricter sentencing guidelines for criminal financial aid fraud.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, perpetrators of financial aid fraud often use the following lines to sell their scholarship services; students should avoid any scholarship service or website that says the following:
- 鈥淭his scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.鈥
- 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get this information anywhere else.鈥
- 鈥淚 just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship鈥
- 鈥淲e will do all the work.鈥
- 鈥淭his scholarship will cost some money.鈥
- 鈥淵ou have been selected by a 鈥榥ational foundation鈥 to receive scholarship鈥 or 鈥淵ou are a finalist鈥 in a contest you never entered.
If you believe you have been the victim of scholarship fraud, wish to file a complaint or want more information, call 877-FTC-HELP or visit .