When it comes to personal finances, most college students will tell you they're pretty broke. That's what makes them an easy target for back-to-school scams. The Better Business Bureau warns college students to be on alert for financial schemes as they head back to campus for the new semester.
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00:00 When it comes to personal finance, most college students will tell you they're pretty broke.
00:04 Unfortunately, that's why they're a big and easy target for back to school scams.
00:10 Out in the world without mom and dad, the Better Business Bureau warns college students to be on
00:14 alert for financial schemes as they head back to campus for the new semester. Lesson number one,
00:20 be wary of offers for guaranteed scholarships or grants. If you get an unsolicited email or
00:26 phone call saying that you've won a scholarship but you have to pay a fee, a processing fee,
00:32 pay taxes on it, that's the biggest red flag of them all. Lesson two, resist the urge to sign up
00:37 for everything. There's tables, there's information sheets, make sure you know exactly who you're
00:42 giving your information to at those information tables. Sometimes there's credit card companies
00:48 offering incentives for students to sign up. Have that conversation with your parents before you do
00:53 that or a trusted financial advisor. That brings us to lesson three, avoid phony offers for fake
00:59 credit cards. Lesson four, be careful about personal documents laying around your dorm room
01:04 or apartment. If you can, have any personal important papers sent to your parents house or
01:10 your guardian's house and not to the dorm. And a bonus lesson, watch out for phishing emails
01:15 claiming to be from your school's financial department. Make sure texts or emails requiring
01:20 you to log in with a student username and password are coming from an official school address and
01:26 that way you don't waste your money.