Tension is high as high school seniors prepare to apply for college. Students are desperate for advice, cheat codes, or even just reassurance. Unfortunately, this desperation makes them especially susceptible to all sorts of scams. As students apply for college, financial aid, and scholarships, they should be wary of potential con artists.

There are countless advertisements for college help companies across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and other social media sites. Some advertisements may involve false AI-generated content or actors that were paid to pretend to be successful customers. Other advertisements may not seem like sponsored content at all.

Recently, there was a wave of TikTok users claiming to be students at top colleges that are sharing the resources they used in the college application process out of goodwill. Often, at the last second, these videos slip in a recommendation for an AI college help website that, in reality, sponsored them to make such content. Some companies even create TikTok slideshows themselves, featuring AI-generated pictures of fake college students that seem extremely realistic to promote their website.

According to an article on the United States Federal Trade Commission website, students should never pay anyone to process your FAFSA or give financial aid advice at a seminar.

“Scholarship and financial aid scams often start with a social media post, email, or a letter in the mail,” the FTC website states. “It might look like a personalized invitation, saying you’ve been selected for a particular scholarship or financial aid package. Sometimes, there’s a callback number or details about an in-person workshop at a local hotel. But these calls and events are usually high-pressure sales pitches where they pressure you to pay for their services immediately — or risk losing out on these “special” scholarships or financial aid packages.”

The FTC recommends talking with a guidance counselor or your college’s financial aid office about financial aid and scholarship options.

It is important to be especially wary of ads for college counseling companies, since they can charge upwards of $5000. Students should vet these companies properly before paying to make sure they can get what they are paying for. Potential red flags that indicate a college consultant is not trustworthy is if they guarantee admission to certain schools, recommend donations of large sums to their foundation, or over criticize an application in order to charge for more “advanced” services.

Applying for financial aid is another avenue for potential scams. According to the College Board, many students are contacted through phone calls or emails by individuals that claim they are from the U.S. Department of Education. These individuals then state they can replace student loans with a federal grant that does not need to be paid back, as long as students provide their bank account number for a “processing fee.” There is no telling what a scammer can do with a bank account number, so it is important to avoid giving away such personal information.

According to the FTC, some companies can allege that they can help students become eligible for financial aid by handling “all the paperwork.” In reality, they are filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for students, which is, as stated in the name, free to fill out by yourself. These companies may even use false information about a student’s family to help them qualify for more financial aid. Filling out false information on the FAFSA is a serious crime that can result in fines up to $20,000 as well as jail time.

As for scholarships, “The Scholarship System” blog warns that companies can use fake scholarship applications to collect personal data from students and sell it to third parties. Others can charge students to apply and then never award scholarships. Scholarships may be a scam if they require an application or processing fee, ask for a student’s Social Security Number, credit card, or debit card, have very little requirements other than filling out personal information, are open to everyone, and take less than 5 minutes to apply to.

Through the stressful process of college applications, students must be wary of untrustworthy companies that are attempting to reach out and provide their “services.” If students are ever unsure about the credibility of a college resource company, they should make sure to ask a trusted adult, their counselor, or visit the Future Planning Center at Spring-Ford.