It has been going on for years. College- bound students and their parents continually get defrauded by scholarship scammers…people who promise to help them land scholarships and financial aid they wouldn’t otherwise receive.

One financial aid organization believes these scammers defraud families out of more than $150 million dollars each and every year. Others think that figure may be far too low.

Scholarship scam artists victimize families by playing into their concern about meeting the rising costs of college for their children. Many such families have not been through the financial aid process before and are seeking help and assurance. The scammers offer these worried families lots of assurances and false promises, only to defraud them in the end.

It all starts with a letter from a company with a name that makes it sound like a benign organization whose mission is to assist students and their families.

The letter often looks like it comes from a top college or university. That is in no way an accident. The font size, the high grade letterhead, and even the company logo are chosen by the scammers to give the letter an “academic look”. It is the very worst kind of junk mail, but that isn’t what it appears to be. As a result, instead of throwing the letter away, most families open it. That’s their first mistake.

The letters always start by creating anxiety about the high cost of college.

But, the letter goes on to say, there is no need for worry. We can work with you to ensure that you receive lots of financial aid. Often there will be rhetoric about helping students find some of the millions of dollars in unused aid. In some instances there will be talk about teaching you “secrets” that colleges and universities do not want you to know.

The letters conclude with an invitation to attend a seminar or information session, usually at a hotel not far from your home. Because the letter offers the promise of increased financial aid, and because there is no charge to attend, many students and their parents show up to learn more. That is their second mistake.

Ultimately, attendees are subject to a very aggressive group sales pitch for the company’s services. Every company’s pitch is different, but all guarantee that their services will result in students receiving far more money for college than they otherwise would. And, none tell the truth…that everything they offer is either unnecessary or can be gotten elsewhere, for free.

The group pitch is followed by individual meetings during which families are heavily pressured to immediately write a check for the services offered. All too many families yield to the pressure, writing checks of up to $1,000 or more in exchange for a set of services worth absolutely nothing.

It is very sad. And, it happens every year. Don’t fall for this kind of scam. Get all of your financial aid and scholarship advice from your high school counselor, college admissions and financial aid counselors, and the dozens of reputable publications and websites.

Most important of all, never pay anyone for financial aid advice or services. Never.