Better Business Bureau warns college
students to be wary of financial aid scams
The Better Business Bureau (BBB)
serving Alaska, Oregon, and Western
Washington is warning college-bound
students and their parents to be wary of
financial aid scams. Deceitful compa-
nies involved in financial aid scams
promise big bucks for college tuition,
but ultimately take your money and
leave you with nothing.
In recent years, consumer complaints
against scholarship, loan and grant serv-
ices to the BBB have risen significantly.
In 2006 alone, consumer complaints
against these services to BBBs across
the U.S. increased by 60 percent.
“Funding a college education is ex-
pensive, and finding money for college
can be an intimidating process,” said
Robert Andrew, president and CEO of
the Better Business Bureau serving
Alaska, Oregon and Western Washing-
ton. “The fallout from this year’s student
loan scandal, combined with the efforts
of tireless scammers, means there is a
real trust crisis in the financial aid in-
dustry. There are many deceitful scam-
mers and businesses taking advantage of
overwhelmed parents who are just try-
ing to put their child through school.”
Although there are several different
types of loan and grant scams out there,
following are two common types:
F INANCIAL A ID S EMINAR S CAMS
College-bound students receive e-
mails from companies like “College
Money Matters” stating they’ve been ac-
cepted to attend a free financial aid sem-
inar. The seminar essentially ends up be-
ing a sales pitch and, for a fee, the
company offers to submit the student’s
Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) form and find college
scholarships and grants for the student.
Victims of this type of scam who
contacted the BBB reported they paid
between $700 and $1,000 and never
heard from the company again. Not only
did they not receive the promised serv-
ices, many discovered that the FAFSA
form was never even filed.
C OLLEGE G RANT S CAMS
Students receive e-mails or letters
stating they qualify for free private or
government grant money as financial
aid. The grant is then sent to the student
in the form of a check with instructions
to deposit the check into their account
and then wire a small amount of the
money back to cover processing fees.
Ultimately, the checks end up being
counterfeit and victims end up having to
pay the bank back for the withdrawn
money on top of losing their own
money, which was wired to the scam-
mers.
To avoid becoming a victim of schol-
arship scams, the BBB offers the fol-
lowing tips:
• Avoid being duped by claims like
“the scholarship is guaranteed or your
money back.” These guarantees often
have so many conditions and strings at-
tached that it is almost impossible for
consumers to get their money back.
• If you are looking for scholarship
information, don’t believe the line, “You
can’t get this information anywhere
else.” Scholarship information is widely
available in books and pamphlets from
libraries and financial aid offices, as well
as on the Internet.
• Only you and your child, not a third
party, can and should provide the finan-
cial information needed to complete fi-
nancial aid forms.
• If you receive a letter or e-mail
claiming you have won a scholarship,
make sure it is one your student actually
applied for. If you never applied in the
first place, there is no way you could
have won.
• Never hand over personal informa-
tion, including Social Security numbers,
account number, or credit card numbers.
This is never a requirement for a legiti-
mate scholarship offer. Also, a legitimate
scholarship never requires payment.
For more information on scholarship
and grant scams, as well as to get a reli-
ability report on a specific company, go
to www.thebbb.org or call call 503-212-
3022 in Oregon. In Washington call
206-431-2222 or 253-830-2924.
Honoring Workers this Labor Day
D ENNIS O’M ALLEY
Attorney at Law
Representing union members for more than
20 years in workers’ compensation and
Social Security disability cases.
1500 NE Irving Street, Suite 370 • Portland, OR 97232 • 503-243-4899
Labor Day Greetings!
On this holiday set aside specifically for
workers — and established by the efforts
of organized labb or — the members,
officers and staff of IBEW Local 48 wish
everyone a well-deserved day of rest.
IBEW Local 48
15937 NE Airport Way
Portland, Ore. 97230
503- 256-4848
On Behalf of the Staff of the
International Union of Painters and
Allied Trades District Council No. 5,
Labor Day is a special day set aside for workers.
We offer best wishes for safe and prosperous
times to our many friends in the labor movement.
We Salute all the Working Men and Women in
Organized Labor this Labor Day 2007
Serving Oregon, Washington and Idaho
Columbia-Pacific Building &
Construction Trades Council
3535 SE 86th Portland, Ore. 97266
503 774-0546
AUGUST 17, 2007
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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