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Financial Aid SCAM

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Below are the details of a new financial aid scam currently targeting community colleges, especially those offering free tuition. This scam involves identity theft at a new level and is something users should know about.

Here’s how the scam works:

 

  1. Scammers register as students using stolen personal information, often without the victim’s knowledge.
  2. They log into online classes to create the appearance of attendance.
  3. Once they receive the financial aid check, they stop logging in and essentially steal the money.
  4. Victims—both students and parents—often don’t realize what’s happened until the financial aid office demands repayment of the funds.


Institutions are beginning to implement software to detect and combat this issue, but we wanted to make our community aware of this.