There are many scams aimed at college students for the obvious reasons: many are away from home for the first time, have little life experience, and there are no immediate trusted adults. As such, as a college administrator, you can play an active role in helping your students identify and avoid people and companies that will try to take advantage of them.
Some of the more common scams include:
- Scholarship scams: Fake scholarship programs may call, email, or text a student out of the blue. A fake scholarship site is likely to request an application fee or charge for a list of potential scholarships. It may also guarantee the student will receive an award. We know this, but students may not. You can get ahead of the scam programs by providing the websites of trusted scholarship search engines like the Department of Labor or the College Board and describing the red flags of a potential scam in your materials.
- Employment scams: As with everything in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Signs of an employment scam include a rate of pay well over what would be expected in an entry level job; an application fee; and a request for personal information ordinarily not collected in a job application or provided in a resume like a social security number or names of other family members. It will serve students well to proactively inform them of the signs of a scam and encourage them to consult the student employment office if they are not sure a job opportunity is the real thing.
- Imposter scams: Scammers know that many students are challenged to pay college expenses and live in dread of getting that phone call telling them to pay up or get out. They are sophisticated enough to spoof the phone numbers of Student Accounts or Financial Aid when calling students. They will threaten the student with being dropped from classes if they don’t make a payment RIGHT NOW. Make sure your students know what your collection practices are to help them be more likely to identify a scam. And, if they’re asking for a credit card number, advise students to hang up and call the school office directly before providing it just to be sure. This is important information to include with your tuition bills.
- Social media scams: Young people share a lot on social media, so it is a common place to find scammers targeting college-going students. Students will find everything from cheap books to moving services in their social media feeds and should be leery of companies advertising there. A quick check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) can go a long way to separating valid companies from the scam ones. If your institution has partnerships with companies offering services students regularly use, let your students know in your admission materials to save them from the risk of becoming the victim of a scam.
- Credit card scams: Credit scams can range from a card with unfavorable terms to a phishing scheme to collect the students’ personal information and steal their identities. In a perfect world, a parent or some other trusted adult will assist the student in picking their first credit card; however, many students will arrive on campus without one and will be susceptible to scam offers. If you have a relationship with a bank on campus, make that recommendation if they will offer a fair deal. If not, recommend students check out trusted websites like nerdwallet or creditkarma to look for a credit card that will work for them. This is also helpful information to include with your admissions materials for accepted students.
- Housing scams: Students are certainly not the only ones vulnerable to housing scams. It’s common to hear about scammers putting listings for properties they don’t own online. There are also unethical landlords who use fake photos in their advertisements or bait and switch renters by not providing the agreed upon unit, but rather one of lesser quality. There are two keys to avoiding housing scams — learning who the property owner is and not committing until the property can be viewed in person. The latter can be difficult for new students, so having temporary housing available in the weeks leading up to the start of classes or at very least, a list of reputable landlords in the area will reduce the likelihood of students being scammed.
- Student loan scams: For your graduating students and recent alumni with student loans, scams abound. Some examples include private companies offering consolidation or loan counseling services using the Department of Education’s seal and companies that offer quicker loan forgiveness for a fee. In the first case, students can be duped into using a private consolidation loan resulting in the loss of the benefits and more favorable repayment terms in the federal program. In the second case, we know there is no ‘short cut’ to loan forgiveness, but students may not. In both cases, information about student loan repayment, whether it’s a federal or private loan, is always free. Your student loan exit counseling materials should include a warning about these types of scams and a referral to Federal Student Aid for federal loans and the lender for private ones.
The beginning of a new academic year is an exciting time for students and it’s too bad they (and we) must worry about the bad guys out there who will, if allowed the opportunity, take advantage of students’ naivete. We can play a crucial advising role by proactively providing information at the right time to help students have a fighting chance against the scammers. The best time to share depends on the type of scam. We suggest the following:
- Financial aid application materials or with the financial aid award — information about scholarship and employment scams
- Admitted student materials — social media and housing scams
- Invoice or billing materials — imposter and credit card scams
- Exit counseling session — student loan scams
With a small amount of effort, you can be a major resource for your students. And the Higher Education Assistance Group would like to be your major resource, so check out our services at www.heag.us or email us at info@heag.us. We’re always here to help you help your students.
Source:
https://www.idwatchdog.com/education/-/article/9-college-student-identity-scams
