How to avoid scholarship scams

The message usually arrives when you are already hoping for good news. You have been “selected” for a scholarship. There is just a small processing fee to pay, or a form asking for your bank details, and the offer expires in 48 hours.

Scholarship scams work because they arrive at exactly the moment students are most eager to say yes. The European Commission’s agency for education says it has been told of numerous attempts to defraud people with fake EU scholarships. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission keeps a dedicated page of warnings about scholarship and financial aid scams.

The good news is that these scams follow the same patterns. This guide shows you how to avoid scholarship scams, using the warning signs that official agencies themselves publish, how to check whether an offer is real, and where to report one that is not.

The one rule to remember: real scholarships do not charge you to apply

If an offer asks you to pay before you receive anything, treat it as a scam until you have proved otherwise.

The official sources agree on this point:

• The US Federal Trade Commission tells students never to pay to apply for a scholarship (FTC).
• The European Commission’s education agency, which runs EU scholarships such as Erasmus Mundus, says EU scholarships are not granted for a fee (EACEA).
• An EU fraud alert about fake Erasmus+ offers asking for a “registration fee” states that Erasmus+ does not charge an application fee (EU Delegation to Canada).

Warning signs of a scholarship scam

These are the signs listed by the FTC, the European Commission and university fraud guidance. One of them is enough to stop and check.

• A fee to apply, “process” or “release” your award. Genuine funders pay you, not the other way round.
• A request for your bank or card details to “hold” the scholarship or “confirm eligibility”. The FTC warns this can lead to charges you never agreed to.
• A guarantee. “Guaranteed or your money back” is a classic line; the FTC notes the refund conditions are often impossible to meet.
• You won something you never applied for. Being told you are a “finalist” in a competition you did not enter is a red flag.
• Pressure to act now. The FTC notes that only scammers tell you to pay now or lose out.
• Information “available nowhere else”. Real scholarships publish their rules openly on official websites.
• Messages out of nowhere, by email, social media or WhatsApp, presented as a personal invitation.
• Someone pretending to be an official body. Fraudsters impersonate universities, embassies, government departments and well-known organisations, sometimes with copied logos (University of Dundee, DAAD India).
• Requests for passwords or login details. The FTC warns students never to share their student aid login with anyone. Treat any request for a password as a warning sign.

How to check if a scholarship is real

1. Find the scholarship yourself. Do not use the link in the message. Search for the program’s official website and check that the offer appears there.
2. Check the email address. University emails come from the university’s own domain, and UK government sites end in .gov.uk, for example. Free email addresses and look-alike domains are a warning sign.
3. Contact the program directly using the contact details on its official website, not the ones in the message.
4. Ask your university. A financial aid office, international office or careers adviser can tell you whether an offer is known.
5. Search the name with “scam” or “complaint”. The FTC suggests this simple check before paying anyone anything.
6. Get everything in writing. If a service asks for money, ask for its costs and refund policy in writing. A scammer will often refuse.
7. Apply only through official channels. For Erasmus+ exchanges, the EU advises dealing directly and only with your home university (EU Delegation to Canada).

What to do if you think you have been targeted

• Stop. Do not reply, click links or send any more money or documents.
• Keep the evidence: emails, messages, receipts and the website address.
• If you paid or shared bank details, call your bank immediately. The FTC notes that scammers favour payment methods that are hard to reverse, so speed matters.
• Change your passwords if you clicked a link or entered login details.
• Tell your university if the scammer claimed to be from it.
• Report it (see below), and warn friends who may receive the same message.

Where to report a scholarship scam

• United States: report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.
• United Kingdom: report fraud to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk, forward phishing emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and scam texts to 7726 (GOV.UK).
• Chevening: its anti-fraud policy gives an email address for reporting suspected fraud connected to the programme.
• Anywhere else: contact your national police or consumer protection agency, and tell the real organisation whose name was used.

Frequently asked questions

Do any real scholarships charge an application fee?

The safest assumption is no. The FTC tells students never to pay to apply, and the EU states that its scholarships are not granted for a fee. Universities may charge their own admission fees, but you pay those through the university’s official website, not to someone who contacts you.

Is it safe to pay a company to find scholarships for me?

You do not need to. The US Department of Education says you do not have to pay to find scholarships or financial aid (StudentAid.gov), and official scholarship databases, university websites and sites like ours list programs without charge.

I received an email that looks official. How can I be sure?

Ignore the links in the email and go to the official website yourself. If the offer is real, it will be there, and you can contact the program through the details on its own site.

What if I already sent money?

Contact your bank or payment provider straight away and report the scam. Acting quickly gives you the best chance of stopping or reversing the payment.

Find genuine scholarships

Every listing on ScholarRadar links to the official website of the program and shows the date we last checked it. Browse them on our Scholarships and Opportunities pages.