Is this a scam?Check before you pay, click or share.

What is it?

Pick the closest one.

Tick anything that’s true

• They asked me to pay a fee (to apply, to get paid, to “process” or “release” money)
• They sent a check or money and asked me to deposit it and send some back, or buy something with it
• They want payment by gift card, crypto, a wire transfer or a payment app
• They asked for my FSA ID, my password, or my Social Security number
• They're pushing me to act right now, or something bad will happen
• They'll only talk by text or an app (WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram), never by phone or in person
• It's too good to be true: big money, little work, or a prize I never entered for
• The email isn't from my school's real address (a Gmail, a misspelled name, or a strange domain)
• They told me to keep it secret, or not to check with anyone
• There's a link asking me to sign in, “verify” my account, or download something

How to check it yourself

1. Contact them a different way. Don’t use the phone number or link in the message. Look up the school office, company or professor yourself and call or email them there.
2. Ask someone you trust. Your financial aid office, career center, campus IT, a professor or an EFF officer. Scammers want you to decide alone and fast.
3. Remember the free ones. The FAFSA, loan help, and your financial aid office are always free. If someone charges for them, it’s not the real thing.

Report it

• Any scam: the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Student loan or FAFSA scams: tell Federal Student Aid through StudentAid.gov or 1-800-4-FED-AID, and report it to the FTC too.
• A fake email from your school: forward it to your campus IT or security office (search your school’s site for “report phishing”), then delete it.
• A fake job from “the career office”: tell your real career center so they can warn other students.

Already paid, or already shared?

It happens to smart people every day. Act quickly; it’s not too late to limit the damage.

1. Call your bank or card company now. Tell them it was a scam and ask them to stop or reverse the payment. For a gift card, call the company on the back of the card. For a payment app, report it in the app.
2. Shared a password or your FSA ID? Change it right away, everywhere you used it, and turn on two-step sign-in. Call 1-800-4-FED-AID if it was your FSA ID.
3. Shared your Social Security number? Freeze your credit for free with each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion), so nobody can open accounts in your name.
4. Make a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov, the FTC’s free site. It walks you through each step.
5. Lost money you needed for school? Tell your financial aid office, and ask EFF for help through the Lighthouse.