As the cost of college tuition rises, some University of Memphisstudents may be searching for alternative ways to fund theireducation. But some offers are just what they seem -- too good tobe true.
Since the establishment of "Project Scholarscam" in 1996 by theFederal Trade Commission, there have been an estimated 175,000victims of scholarship fraud and an estimated $22 million ininjury.
More than $560,000 has been returned to victims of variousscholarship scams since 1996, according FTC statistics.
Some U of M students have contacted The University's scholarshipoffice seeking advice on scholarship offers they were unsure about,said Natalie Davis, U of M financial services associate.
Although most scholarship scams are conducted over the Internetor through e-mail, Davis said students should not be afraid the usethe Internet as a resource when researching scholarships.
"We have had many students receive legitimate scholarships overthe Internet," Davis said.
Scholarship scams are often disguised in many different forms,but most serve the same purpose of cheating unknowing candidatesout of money.
Some scams may be difficult to detect because they are operatedby legitimate-sounding organizations like National ScholarshipFoundation, College Financial Aid Services of America and StudentAssistance Services, all of which have been caught and shut-down bythe FTC.
Some scams are disguised as guaranteed scholarship searchservices, where the victims are guaranteed to win a scholarship orgiven a refund. In other scams, the victims are told they have wona contest they never entered. Another popular method requires anapplication fee for every application submitted.
"Students should never have to pay for any scholarship advice,"Davis said.
In 2000, the U.S. Congress acknowledged scholarship fraud to bea national problem and passed the College Scholarship FraudPrevention Act, which increased penalties for scammers and requiredthe Department of Education to publish information aboutscholarship scams on it's Web site.
Students can also research scholarship opportunities at The U ofM scholarship office Web site.
