Recently, BBB serving Acadiana has received calls, emails and a Scam Tracker report regarding a Peyton Fontenot reaching out to students about eligibility for the Pell Pandemic Grant. Students have indicated the emails came from [email protected]. According to the email, it instructs students that in order to take advantage of this benefit you must provide your personal information: Full name, copy of your driver’s license, phone number and Social Security number and email this information to the [email protected].
BBB contacted Southwest Louisiana Community College (SLCC) as solacc.edu is associated with the college. In communicating with the SLCC Financial Department, there is no such thing as a Pell Pandemic Grant and stated “It appears that several students were targeted with a PELL Pandemic Grant scam over the weekend via email. The email appears to come from another student's email address. Students and staff are advised to forward these emails to IT and ask that they do not reply or send any information to the requesting party.”
BBB gives these tips to help you spot similar scams:
- Beware of unsolicited grant offers that you did not apply for and never pay for a grant.
- Do your research. The names of agencies and foundations that award grants are available for free at any public library, college or university, financial aid offices or on the Internet. The only official access point for federal grant-making agencies is grants.gov.
- Be cautious of fake websites. Websites with similar names of a specific grant, can easily give validity to a student who is unfamiliar with the grant. Check out our article on how to spot fake websites.
- Check the Email Address. Hover your mouse over links without clicking to see if the address is truly from your financial aid department. The URL in the text should match the URL that your mouse detects. If the two do not match, it is most likely a scam. In this case, the email was associated with a student at the school.
- Keep your personal information safe. Do not give any personal identifiable information to anyone over the phone, text message, or email.
For More Information:
BBB has more information on loan scams available at bbb.org.
Reporting:
If you've believe you've responded to a scam, file a complaint with:
- your state Attorney General