Who would scam a broke college student? More people in more ways then you’d think. College students looking for extra funding make the perfect target for scammers to take advatage of. Read below to discover the most common scams I’ve run into as a student!
- Fake Honor Societies
-
Did you get a mysterious email that is welcoming you to a prestigious honor society you’ve never heard of? And to get a “Lifetime membership”, you pay a one time fee of $50? No bueno. All authentic honor societies can be checked for free here by the Association of College Honor Societies.
- Influencer Scam
-
If you get a dm starting with “Hey girl, dm to collab!” be honest with yourself. Do you have a big enough following for a brand to be wanting you to advertise their product? This scam is legal but ethically wrong, because usually these brands will give you a measly discount for YOU to BUY their product and then advertise it on your page, and in return you get an “influencer code” to share with your following. This brand just got you to pay to advertise their company on your page. Know your worth and get paid for your page! Don’t accept these dirty deals.
- Venmo Requesters
-
If you and your friends have your own private economy involving the same $20 on venmo, make your transactions private. Scammers can look at what your group is sending, and pose as one of your dear friends. Most notably, posing as one of your friends in distress and needing money ASAP and promising they will pay you back when the get their wallet back. (Yes, I recently fell for this scam. Yes it was embarrassing).
- Faux Scholarships
-
This scam is in the form of an attractive scholarship. In order to submit your application for this amazing scholarship you need to put your card information in. I know theres a saying about “gotta spend money to make money”, but, in respect to scholarship applications, this is a big red flag to give out your card information. The money should flow from the organization to you, not the other way around. What if you’re awarded a scholarship? The only thing you should possibly be giving is your routing number, NEVER give out your private information.
- The Sugar Daddy Scam
-
Another scam that starts with a dm. By far, this is my favorite scam in hopes that maybe one day someone would give me money just because I’m a struggling college student. They all start the same, super friendly older men that claim to just want to “help financially”. If they’re really about it, send them your venmo, paypal, zelle, etc. and if they send money great! Go treat yourself to some coffee and ice cream guilt-free.
Usually, where this scam goes south is they ask for your bank account’s app username and password so they can “deposit” the money. Once again, in order for someone to deposit money into your account all they need is your bank’s routing number and your account number, which can usually be found on the bottom of checks. To avoid the confusion just stick to money apps like venmo and only give out your username.
Money makes the world go round. Yet, no matter how much or how little you have, there are people out there who will do anything to get yours. Make that bread girl and protect it!