News & Stories

July 2026

Back-to-School Scams: Protect Your Family and Finances

Back-to-school season is a busy time for families shopping for supplies, textbooks, clothing, technology, and financial aid resources. Unfortunately, scammers often take advantage of this seasonal rush by creating fake deals, impersonating trusted organizations, and using urgent messages to steal money or personal information.

Common Back-to-School Scams to Watch For

• Fake online stores and textbook deals: Fraudsters may create websites that look like legitimate retailers or school stores, offering deep discounts on supplies, laptops, gift cards, or textbooks. Shoppers may receive counterfeit items, outdated textbook editions, or nothing at all.
• Social media giveaways and “freebie” offers: Posts or ads promising free school supplies, shopping sprees, or discounted gift cards may lead to sites that collect personal information, trigger unwanted calls and emails, or install malware on a device.
• Phishing emails and text messages: Scammers may pretend to be a school, retailer, delivery service, or financial aid office. These messages often include links asking customers to verify account details, pay a fee, or provide sensitive information.
• Scholarship and financial aid scams: Families may receive messages claiming a student has been selected for a scholarship or grant, but legitimate scholarships do not require upfront “processing,” “redemption,” or application fees.
• Tech support scams: As students prepare laptops and tablets for school, scammers may pose as technology support representatives and claim a device has a virus. Their goal is often to gain remote access, steal information, or install harmful software.

How to Protect Yourself

• Shop from trusted sources: Type website addresses directly into the browser instead of clicking ads or links. Look closely for misspellings, unusual web addresses, poor grammar, or prices that seem too good to be true.
• Use secure payment methods: Be cautious if a seller asks for payment through gift cards, wire transfers, cash transfer apps, or cryptocurrency. Credit and debit cards may provide additional protections compared with some payment methods, depending on the transaction and applicable rules.
• Think before clicking: Do not open links or attachments from unexpected emails, texts, or social media messages. If a message appears to come from a school, retailer, or financial aid office, contact the organization directly using a verified phone number or website.
• Never pay to apply for aid: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is free to complete, and legitimate scholarships generally do not require payment to apply, receive, or “guarantee” an award.
• Protect personal information: Avoid sharing Social Security numbers, banking information, passwords, PINs, school login credentials, or StudentAid.gov account information unless you are certain the request is legitimate.
• Keep devices secure: Install updates, use strong passwords, enable multi-factor authentication when available, and avoid giving remote access to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly.

Teach Your Kids About Online Safety

Students are often comfortable shopping, applying, and communicating online, but they may not recognize every warning sign of fraud. Encourage children and young adults to pause before clicking links, accepting unexpected offers, or sharing personal information. A quick conversation before the school year begins can help prevent financial loss, identity theft, and account compromise.

If Something Seems Suspicious

If you believe you clicked a suspicious link, shared sensitive information, or made a payment to a scammer, act quickly. Contact your bank or card issuer, change affected passwords, monitor accounts for unusual activity, and report the scam to the appropriate authorities.

Staying alert during back-to-school season can help protect both your family’s finances and personal information. When in doubt, slow down, verify the source, and avoid sending money or information until you are confident the request is legitimate.wn, verify the source, and avoid sending money or information until you are confident the request is legitimate.