|
1/14/2005
A January 12, 2005 Associated Press article reminds families to beware of financial aid scams, where companies claim they can "guarantee" that a certain amount of money will be received to help cover college expenses. An example is given where a family signed a contract for nearly $2,000, and then discovered that the same type of assistance could have been obtained for free. The company involved, Integrated Capital Inc. (which does business as National Student Financial Aid), is under investigation for a second time by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The article is available at the Web site of The Boston Globe.
ISAC continues to encourage students and families to be skeptical of unsolicited offers for fee-based scholarship or financial aid searches. In many cases, financial aid information and applications can be obtained at no charge. While some legitimate companies do charge a fee to perform a financial aid search, individuals should only pay money and/or provide personal information if they are confident that the entity providing the service is reputable. Students and families should never provide any financial or personal information to an unknown, unsolicited person or company.
|
