Back-to-School Scams: BBB’s Lisa Swanson on Fake Jobs, Scholarships and Homework Help

Fake Jobs, Scholarships and Student Offers

By-Hank Stolz

Photo-submitted

Worcester, MA-Lisa Swanson, CEO of the BBB of Central NE, reminds us to be on the look for back-to-school scams. She tells the Talk of the Commonwealth on Radio Worcester back-to-school season brings a lot of activity online: first-day photos, new accounts and apps, college students looking for jobs, students searching for tutors and test prep, and scholarship opportunities.

Employment scams are a big concern, especially because students are often looking for flexible, part-time or remote work. A fake job offer may appear to come from a professor, university department, or campus employment office. Other risks include fake scholarships, online purchase scams, identity theft, and phony offers aimed specifically at college students. “You know, a college email address doesn’t make an offer legitimate. Students still need to stop and verify who is really contacting them.” warns Lisa.

Lisa also warns us about an unusual scam the BBB has been hearing about involving online homework help, She says, “There’s an important distinction between hiring a legitimate tutor to help you learn and paying someone online to complete your assignments for you.”  Here’s how the scam works, the students who paid supposed homework-help companies to do their work, then get a demand from the company for more money. If the student refuses, the scammer threatens to contact the school or professor and expose the student for cheating. If you need academic help, start with your school, teachers, or trusted referrals and look for a legitimate tutor who is helping you understand the material—not doing the work for you.

Lisa ended with this, “For all the parents out there listening: One of the best protections you can give students is the confidence to stop and ask questions when something doesn’t feel right*.”