The scholarship service needs your credit card or checking account number in advance. Every year, thousands of families fall prey to fraudulent scholarship companies that pose as legitimate foundations, scholarship sponsors, and scholarship search services. In most cases, consumers end up with nothing but a hefty credit card bill or a depleted checking account. The funds went unclaimed because they couldn't be used. In fact, less than one percent of the financial aid awarded each year comes from the private sector.
Most financial aid comes from the government or from the schools themselves.
That is, if the student pays an advance fee, he or she will get a scholarship. In reality, these companies search a database compiled from public information and provide a list of scholarships and grants to which students can apply and for which students may or may not be eligible. Then, they find out that large sums of money have been debited from their accounts.