By Aimee O'Driscoll VPN and Cybersecurity Expert

Scholarship scams take advantage of students looking to help fund their education. We reveal how to spot and avoid common scholarship scams, as well as what to do if you've been caught out by one.

There’s no denying that education is expensive. 57 percent of US students graduated with student debt in 2018, with an average debt per graduate of $16,649. Thankfully, for some lucky students, scholarships are available to help offset the costs of higher education. Many assist with pricey tuition fees, while others offer funds toward expenses such as accommodation and school supplies.

Unfortunately, numerous scams making the rounds seek to take advantage of unsuspecting students. Fraudsters prey on needy scholarship applicants and attempt to steal money, banking details, personal information, and more.

Thankfully, there are ways to spot these schemes so you can avoid wasting your precious time and use it to focus on real scholarship applications. But with so many offers of financial aid out there, legitimate and fake, how do know when you’ve hit on the real deal?

In this post, we reveal the types of scholarship scams you may come across and the steps you can take to avoid being duped.