Taking your child back-to-school can be a very stressful time. Scammers will try take advantage of your emotional state to steal personal information and your hard-earned money. The best way to protect yourself is to know what scams are out there so you can see the signs when a fraudster is trying to take advantage of you. Here are a four back-to-school scams affecting Palm Beach County students today!    

Tuition Fee Scam

As you are packing up your soon-to-be college student, keep an eye out for the tuition fee scam. This scam entails a threatening message that you must pay a fee prior to getting to the school or the student will lose their place in the class. The messaging will come through on an official-looking email or phone number, adding to the illusion of truth. As the student, you are desperate not to lose your place at your dream college, so you pay the fee. Once the money has been sent, you will never see it again.   

Student Tax Scam

Similar to many tax scams, the student tax scam is when a fraudster pretends to be an IRS representative demanding money. The fake IRS representative will require for you to pay a “federal student tax.” The scammer will pressure you into paying the fake tax by threatening jail time. Due to the heighten emotions and fear of jail, victims will send the money over.

Shopping Scam

During the back-to-school time, everyone is out shopping for school supplies and trying to save on all they need. Scammers use phishing emails to offer student discounts or pretend they missed the delivery of their supplies. The goal of the shopping scam is to get the recipient to click on the infected link in the email so that the fraudster has access to your information.  

Scholarship Scam

A great way to cover college expenses is by getting a scholarship. Scammers know that students are looking for ways to pay for their higher education, so they create scholarship scams to steal from the unexpecting students. The victim will receive an official-looking email or call requesting an application fee or personal information to confirm eligibility for the scholarship. Unfortunately, the scholarship is not real, and your money or information has been stolen.  

Tips To Protect Yourself From Back-To-School Scams

• Do your research on different scholarship opportunities
• Don’t click on links you have not requested
• Check the email address you are receiving the email from to see if it matches
• Reach out to the college from the contact information on their website if you have any concerns about a communication supposedly coming from the college

Back-to-school scams affect students and their families from elementary all the way to college. The messaging of the scam may change as the student ages, but the goal is always to steal from you. Be cautious when receiving communication that was not requested because it may be a scam.

Source: Norton