Spotting scholarship scams

Scholarship scams are common. They target students like you. Scammers want your money, your personal information (passport, ID card, bank details, passwords), or both. This guide shows the warning signs and what to do.

The most important rule

A real scholarship never asks you to pay to apply, to "keep" a place, or to receive the scholarship.

Australia Awards offices say it clearly. For example, Australia Awards in Indonesia says it will never ask applicants to pay or send money during the application.

We never ask for money either. This site is free. We never collect applications, documents or passwords.

Warning signs

Be very careful if someone:

• asks you to pay for an application, a form, "processing", a "visa guarantee" or a "reservation";
• promises you a scholarship or a visa. Nobody can promise this: providers choose between many applicants;
• contacts you first, without warning, to say you won a scholarship you never applied for;
• says they are an agent or "consultant" who can get you a scholarship. For example, the Australian High Commission in Nigeria warns about false scholarship agents who ask for money;
• writes from an email address or website that you cannot find on any official page. A free address (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) does not always mean a scam. The scholarship office of the Ministry of Education really uses a Gmail address. The websites of the Embassy of Japan and of the UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission both show it. What matters: does an official website show this exact address?
• pushes you to act fast ("only 24 hours left", "do not tell anyone");
• asks for passwords, bank card numbers or PIN codes;
• shares an offer on WhatsApp or Facebook with a link to a form that asks for your personal details.

How to check an offer

1. Find the official website yourself. Do not click the links in the message. Search for the name of the scholarship, or use the link on its page on this site. We always link to the official source.
2. Check the website address. Official websites of the Vanuatu Government end with .gov.vu. The Vanuatu Police Force warns about fake websites that copy official ones. Government websites of other countries end with, for example, .gov.au (Australia), .govt.nz (New Zealand), .gov.uk (United Kingdom) or .gouv.fr (France). Some real programmes use another address, for example australiaawardsvanuatu.org. In that case, check that a government website links to it.
3. Contact the provider with the official contact details, not the ones in the message: the phone or email on the official website, or the office in Port Vila.
4. Ask someone you trust: a teacher, your school principal, or someone who had a scholarship before.

Real steps that can surprise you

Some real steps can look strange. They are normal when they come from the official provider:

• The embassy or high commission checks your application. For example, Chevening says the British embassy or high commission may contact your referees to check your letters.
• You pay fees to official offices. Passports, police clearances, certified copies, English tests and visas have official prices. You pay the office or the test centre directly, and you get a receipt. This is very different from paying a person to apply for a scholarship.

If you think it is a scam

• Stop. Do not pay. Do not send documents. Do not send your personal details.
• Keep the proof: screenshots, phone numbers, email addresses.
• Tell the real provider, with its official contact details, so it can warn other people.
• Tell the police: Port Vila 22 222, Santo 36 222 (numbers for non-emergencies).
• If you already paid or gave your bank details, call your bank now.
• If you gave a password, change it now, everywhere you use it.