Today's college students may be tech-savvy, but a surprising number of students report scams to the Better Business Bureau after learning their lesson a little too late.
From scholarships to new credit cards, college students headed back to campus have a lot of reasons to hand out their information.
That's why it's so important they know the difference between a real offer and a scam.
Students report questionable scholarship offers
As colleges bring out the "welcome" signs, and students bring in their belongings, they have a lot to process.
Hannah Kohlhorst said one of the trickiest parts of starting school was navigating financial aid.
"When I was looking at scholarships," she said, "I'd go to a lot of different websites, and some of them would look sketchy."
Kaya Wilson said she struggled to find legitimate offers.
"It just says you could win a thousand dollars, or a $5,000 scholarship if you sign up with certain links," Wilson said.
As the semester begins, experts warn that students are the target of a number of financial scams, including:
- Fake scholarships. These are typically looking for personal information like names, addresses and Social Security Numbers.
- Bogus apartment listings. Scammers will often copy photos of legitimate ads and repost them on Marketplace or Craigslist.
- Fake credit card offers, that again look for SSNs.
- Online shopping scams offering discount clothing and handbags that never arrive.
Chris Drake with the digital protection company iconectiv says be especially careful shopping online.
"Don't go to websites you just see come out of the blue that you've never heard of," Drake said, "that have that best deal on the latest in-vogue jeans or tote."
How to protect yourself
Melanie McGovern with the Better Business Bureau warns students not to casually fill out forms without knowing exactly what they're signing up for.
Be careful, she said, of "just filling out a form to get a free t-shirt."
Drake said that sensitive information often includes phone numbers.
"That's because that's your prevalent form of digital identity," Drake said, "and we have to start protecting that like it matters because it does."
The Better Business Bureau recommends that you:
- Have important documents sent to your permanent home, not a dorm.
- Update your computer with anti-virus software.
- Guard your passwords and never use the same password on multiple sites.
- Beware of unsolicited offers about scholarships or financial aid, whether via emails, texts or social media ads.
That way you don't run into trouble, and you don't waste your money.
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