Better Business Bureau Warns Consumers about Fake Offers for Federal Grants

Some scam artists are using phony grant offers to get money or personal information from consumers. The Better Business Bureau of Louisville, southern Indiana and Western Kentucky says they’ve received several complaints about fake offers for free federal grants. Some consumers have been offered “free” grants for education purposes, but were later  asked to wire a $7,000 fee.

Consumer protection specialists say scam artists sometimes use application materials to try to obtain someone’s personal information. A  real government agency won’t ask you to pay a fee to receive a grant. If you want a list of real agencies that offer grants you can go on line to www.grants.gov

The BBB is also warning consumers to beware of e-mails that claim to be from the Internal Revenue Service. They say those messages are an attempt to steal personal information.