The return to classes not only brings tools and academic preparation; It also marks the favorite season of the scammers. Each year, thousands of students and parents fall into scholarship -related fraud, loans, school purchases or even alleged job offers. In 2024, the Federal Commerce Commission (FTC) reported around 30,000 cases of fraud between children under 19, with losses that exceeded 55 million dollars.
Given this panorama, Chase warns about the most common scams that circulate in the school season and share practical advice to protect family finances.
Student identity theft
The scammers access school databases and send supplant emails (phishing) to deceive young people and obtain personal data or access keys.
How to protect yourself: Avoid procedures in public Wi-Fi networks, keep official documents in a safe place, activate electronic billing and destroy the physical documents you no longer need.
Scholarship scams and financial aid
Supplanting institutions or banks, scammers offer false scholarships and loans and request personal information “to verify it.”
How to protect yourself: Ignore suspicious calls, contact the institution directly, protect the information from your loans and use credit monitoring tools, such as Credit Journey Chase, which offers free alerts about possible data leaks.
Book rental scams and school articles
False online stores offer “discount” tools and books, but deliver poor quality products or never meet.
How to protect yourself: Check the validity of books and codes, buy in official stores and verify reviews of the site before paying.
Room rental scams (Roommate Scams)
False ads promise available rooms, but after the advanced payment the house is non -existent or already occupied.
How to protect yourself: confirm that housing exists before transferring money and never share personal data with strangers.
Technical support scams
False school technicians ask to install “educational” programs to obtain remote access to devices.
How to protect yourself: Never give access to your computer and keep your accounts safe.
Labor scams
With the need to obtain extra income, many students become the target of false employment offers. The scammers ask for bank data or deliver false checks and then demand reimbursements.
How to protect yourself: distrust suspicious applications on social networks, ignore employers who ask for transfers via Zelle and never share bank information without verifying the legitimacy of work.
In this return to classes, being alert is as important as having the notebooks ready. Knowing the most common fraud tactics and applying preventive measures can prevent parents and students from being victims in one of the most expensive times of the year.
