How to spot scholarship scams

Every year, students lose money and personal data to fake scholarships and dishonest "consultants". The people most at risk are those who need funding most and who search in a second language. The good news is that scams follow a few patterns, and a handful of checks will protect you. This site never charges applicants anything, and neither do the genuine programmes we list.

The golden rule: real scholarships do not ask you to pay to win

Genuine government and university scholarships may charge a modest application fee in a few cases (some universities do), but no real scholarship asks you to pay to "secure", "release" or "process" an award you have already won. Be very suspicious of any payment request that comes after you are told you were selected.

Warning signs

• Guaranteed results. "100% guaranteed scholarship" or "guaranteed admission and visa". No honest agent can promise a selection decision made by someone else.
• Fees to unknown people. Payment by money transfer, cryptocurrency, gift cards or to a personal bank account.
• Urgency and secrecy. "Only 24 hours left to confirm", "do not tell anyone, places are limited".
• Lookalike websites. Addresses that imitate an official name but are not on the official domain. For example, a site called "chinesescholarshipcouncil.com" is not the China Scholarship Council. Government programmes usually use government domains, such as ".gov", ".gov.tr" or ".admin.ch", or the domain of the organising agency.
• Contact through social media only. Real programmes publish calls on their official websites. A message from a stranger on a messaging app is not an offer.
• Requests for sensitive data early on. Bank card details, passwords, or scans of your passport sent to a personal email address before any formal process.
• Poor or unusual communication. Free email addresses for "official" correspondence, many spelling mistakes, or letters with logos but no verifiable contact details.
• Awards you never applied for. "Congratulations, you have been selected" for a programme you never applied to.

How to check that a programme is real

1. Find the official website yourself. Search for the programme name and the organisation, then open its site directly rather than following links in messages. Every listing on our site links to the official page; you can start from our scholarship list.
2. Check the domain. Read the address carefully, letter by letter. Lookalike sites often add a word or change a letter.
3. Confirm the call is current. Real programmes publish dates, eligibility and a contact address. Compare what you were told with what the official site says.
4. Contact the programme directly using details from the official site, not from the message you received.
5. Ask your university's international office or the education ministry in your country, which often know the legitimate programmes well.

Agents and consultants

Not every education agent is a scammer. Some universities work with licensed agents who are paid by the university. But you never need an agent to apply for a government scholarship such as Chevening, Türkiye Scholarships, Stipendium Hungaricum or MEXT: you apply yourself, through the official system, and these applications are free. If you choose to use a paid service, get a written contract that states exactly what it will do, and never let anyone else submit an application in your name with your passwords.

Fake job and internship offers

Similar scams target people looking for internships and jobs with international organisations: fake vacancies, "processing fees" and requests for visa money. UN agencies and EU institutions do not charge fees at any stage of recruitment. Our UN internships guide explains how real applications work.

If you have been targeted

• Stop all contact and do not send more money or documents.
• Keep the messages, receipts and website addresses as evidence.
• If you sent bank details, contact your bank immediately.
• If you sent a copy of your passport, consider reporting it to the authority that issued it.
• Report the scam to the police and, if a real programme was imitated, to that programme, so it can warn others.
• Warn your friends and classmates. Scammers often target groups from the same university or city.

A quick checklist before you pay anything

• Is the payment request on the official website of the programme or university?
• Is the payment going to the institution, not a person?
• Can you confirm the fee with the programme by email or phone from its official site?
• Would a reasonable person describe the offer as "too good to be true"?

When in doubt, do not pay. Genuine opportunities will still be there after you have checked. See also how to find and choose a scholarship and fully funded and partial scholarships.