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The Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) conducts audits, investigations, and inspections of education programs and operations. Anyone knowing of fraud, waste, or abuse of Department of Education funds should contact the OIG Fraud Hotline to make a confidential report.

Scholarship Telemarketing Fraud Scheme!

The Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Education has become aware of a potential fraud scheme involving persons claiming to represent the U.S. Department of Education who are calling students and offering them scholarships or grants. These callers request a bank or credit card account number saying the information will be used to charge a $249 processing fee. The Department of Education does not charge a processing fee to obtain federal education grants. DO NOT give your financial information to individuals making these claims! If you receive one of these calls, please contact the Office of Inspector General immediately (step 3). If you have provided bank or credit card information to the callers, you should take the following steps:

• Immediately contact your bank, explain the situation, and request that the bank monitor or close the compromised account.
• Notify the police about the incident; impersonating a federal officer, telemarketing fraud schemes, and identity theft are crimes.
• Report the fraud to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General hotline at 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or oig.hotline@ed.gov. Special agents in the Office of Inspector General investigate fraud involving federal education dollars.
• Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or http://www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams

Identity Theft Alert to Students:

“Protect your Social Security number and other personal information. Don't let identity thieves rob you of your educational future!”
        ---Inspector General John P. Higgins, Jr.