Scam Squad: College students targeted in financial aid, unpaid tuition, scholarship scams

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - When students start college, there is a lot of money at stake between tuition, financial aid, and rent.

And scammers go where the money is.

When college students get scammed, higher education meets high stakes. There’s a lot of money at risk.

And currently there are financial aid scammers looking for access to students’ personal information through FAFSA forms, or free applications for federal student aid.

Sammi Nachtigal with the FTC says scammers are charging money offering to fill out your forms and promising better results.

“So not only are you giving money to a scammer for something you can do for free, but also you don’t know what they are going to say on that application. If they lie about the assets and everything on that form you can get into really big trouble, and we’re talking $20,000 in fines, and potentially jail time,” Nachtigal said.

There are also scholarship scams charging fees for preapprovals and guaranteeing you’ll get a scholarship.

Scammers are even running scholarship workshops that work kind of like a high pressure time share meetings.

Nachtigal says if your phone rings and the person on the other line says you have unpaid tuition that needs to be paid over the phone right away, or you’ll be dropped from classes, don’t fall for it.

“That’s not how universities work, not a legitimate university. They are not going to kick you out of class like that. So take a minute to know, what are actually the steps for ‘How am I supposed to be paying? Where am I supposed to go for that?’ So when something weird happens like that, you’re able to detect that’s fishy,” said Nachtigal.

She says don’t click on links they send you, instead seek out your school’s websites or physical office, to determine if you owe anything, and how to safely pay.

Also, avoid diploma mills. “This is a scam where their promising to get your degree super fast or with actually no coursework, just your life experience. That’s not real. Real legitimate degrees require work. They require an investment in your time and your energy and your money. So don’t be tempted to pay for something that’s going to be a degree that’s not going to actually have any worth,” said Nachtigal.

Just because a web address has ‘edu’ at the end doesn’t mean it’s an accredited school.

The Department of Education’s College Navigator site can help students steer the right course, and avoid an expensive lesson.