Back-to-School Scams to Avoid
Transitioning from military life to higher education requires adjusting to a whole new way of life, and, while managing Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, financial aid, and classes, new students face heavy workloads. Students can be just as busy as full-time workers, and scammers try to take advantage of this in similar ways to the scams that target military families.
Back-to-School Scams to Avoid
What do you need to protect yourself against when making the transition into academia? We examine some key points and scams to watch out for below when you’re getting ready to start school at a military-friendly college.
Scholarship Scams and Financial Aid Traps
In May 2016, the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Student Aid Center, Inc. The company collected upfront fees from students and families, promising that federal loan forgiveness or exclusive financial aid awards were guaranteed. In reality, the company pocketed millions while submitting standard paperwork that borrowers could file for free through the government.
Real financial aid is free to apply for through StudentAid.gov. Never pay an upfront processing fee to receive aid, and never share your Federal Student Aid username or password.
>> For scholarships for military, veterans, spouses and dependents, try the CollegeRecon Scholarship Finder.
Deceptive Career Schools and GI Bill Marketing
On December 10, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission finalized a $191 million settlement against the University of Phoenix. Regulators found that the school used deceptive television and radio ad campaigns, including a “Let’s Get to Work” promotion in 2012 which targeted military veterans and service members.
This campaign claimed the school built corporate pipelines with companies including Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo, AT&T, and Adobe. The legal settlement in this case included 50 million dollars in cash refunds. It also canceled 141 million dollars in debt owed to the school by students enrolled between October 2012 and December 2016.
Before using your GI Bill or taking out loans, review prospective institutions on the Department of Veterans Affairs GI Bill Comparison Tool to check veteran outcomes, complaint counts, and tuition costs.
Spoofed Tuition and Urgent Billing Alerts
In September 2020, the Toronto Police Service and the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, warned students about spoofed emails that appeared to come from the university administration, “warning” recipients that they had “outstanding tuition” or other issues that required immediate settlement.
The messages directed students to a bogus web portal where victims entered personal banking numbers and debit information under false threat that their course registrations would be wiped out.
Colleges do not require immediate payments through wire transfers, gift cards, or commercial payment apps. If you receive an urgent payment notice, bypass email links and log in directly through your verified student portal.
Fake Research Assistant and Campus Employment Scams
On January 18, 2017, and in subsequent alerts in October 2022, the FBI issued warnings regarding fake job offers for remote college administrative or research assistants. Once hired, the student received a check for several thousand dollars, with orders to deposit the funds, keep a small wage, and wire the rest to a third party to purchase home office gear.
When the bank discovered the check was fake, it deducted the full amount from the student’s account, leaving the student with a drained account and unpaid debts.
Real campus jobs go through official student employment portals. Legitimate employers never ask workers to buy supplies by wiring money from personal accounts.
Off-Campus Housing Fraud
In May 2018, a future college student found a townhome listed on Craigslist in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, where he was relocating for a summer internship. The person claiming to own the property answered questions by phone and provided photographs, but claimed he could not show the home in person before arrival.
The student wired the first month’s rent and security deposit, but when he arrived at the Seattle address with his luggage, he discovered that the home was already occupied by permanent residents and that the listing was fake.
Never wire deposit money or sign a lease for an apartment you or a trusted contact have not seen in person. Verify property ownership before sending funds.
Rules for Protection Against College Scams
- Verify sources independently. Never use phone numbers or web links sent to you in unsolicited emails. Look up phone numbers directly on official school websites.
- Keep credentials secret. Do not share your login information for Department of Veterans Affairs portals, StudentAid.gov, or campus systems.
- Refuse wire requests. Any employer, landlord, or school worker asking for wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency is running a fraud. Report fraud attempts.
- Submit complaints to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and alert campus police if you spot scams on campus.
>> For scholarships for military, veterans, spouses and dependents, try the CollegeRecon Scholarship Finder.
About the author
Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
