In a growing wave of educational scams, several schemes are targeting students in the Gulf States, most especially those who are very willing to study in the United States. The Embassy of Qatar in the United States has recently issued a strong warning about these fraudulent communications, which promise scholarships and other education opportunities falsely.
Fraudulent scholarships are offers from imposters whose intentions are to outwit victims by giving them money or personal information. These types of scams have many forms, such as scholarships that never exist, scholarships for profit, advance-fee loans, fake package notifications, etc.
Qatar Embassy on Fraudulent Scholarships
“Caution must be taken against communication and correspondence claiming that there are scholarships or pending procedures in the United States,” the state of Qatar embassy to the United States of America, along with its attaché and offices, issued a statement. This is an urgent and serious advisory because thousands of students and their families are at risk of falling into the trap of these scams.
The Qatar Embassy’s Steps against Fraud
However, to safeguard students and their families, the embassy of Qatar has strongly advised not to share personal information or to pay any amount to any person or organization assuring scholarship, certification, or verification. The embassy stressed the need to verify the communication by directly contacting the sender through proper channels.
However, the warning was given in the context of a general tendency toward fraudulent operations, which have been thrown into sharp relief by the governments of the whole world. It is usually accompanied by active phone or email coverage of potential victims, with scammers posing as the U.S. and Qatari embassies and also using the names of other well-known organizations. They often include such words as “national,” “federal,” “foundation,” or “administration” in order to give their company an official tint.
Both U.S. and Qatari authorities have been noticing and making the public aware of this persistent fraud for a few years. More fraudulent offers to facilitate educational opportunities, scholarships, and various training programs came to the attention of the U.S. Embassy in Doha last year. The reports state that scholarship scams defraud hundreds of thousands of students and parents every year and add up to many thousands, if not millions, of lost dollars for all the victims.
Red Flags of Fraudulent Scholarships
Among the more common red flags associated with the various scholarships are those that require a fee for an application, promise a 100% guarantee of a scholarship match, or require advance-fee loans, as well as financial aid seminars that turn into sales pitches. These scams take advantage of the very high demand for opportunities to study in foreign schools and the eagerness of the students to find resources to finance such studies.
Safety Measures to be Taken
To fight these scams, the public is encouraged to carefully and critically evaluate any unsolicited scholarship offer. It is important to cross-verify claims of scholarship offer with dependable sources like embassy websites, institutions, or organizations, avoid any service that asks for upfront payments or personal information and also legitimate scholarship do not ask for payments to apply. The official websites of embassies and educational institutions are reliable sources of information and verification.
While aiming to gain an education in a foreign country is good, one should be careful in the process. The warning also reminds an individual to protect himself from swindlers who take advantage of the high expectations of these students. With the information being shared, students and their parents would be able to prevent being scammed, thus saving them from losing money and being harassed emotionally.
