About Government Grants & Telemarketing Scams

Telemarketing scams are on a disturbing rise and the crafty marketing man spares no effort to devise a plan to wean money out of you. A telemarketing scam is alarming in its simplicity and looks perfectly innocuous on the surface. Thus there is also no dearth of people to fall for it and lose their hard-earned money in the process.

Data from the stables of the National Consumer League (NCL) put government grants telemarketing scams as one of the most widely used methods to get people to divulge their personal financial information and bank account details.

How do Government Grants Telemarketing Scams Work

A telemarketer, claiming to be from a government agency, might call you to inform that you have been awarded a government grant for doing something commendable like paying your taxes on time or something else that is equally believable. S/he might also tell you that you are receiving the grant to pay for your education, home repairs, or to set up a new business, just to add that extra effort to weaken your defenses.

After convincing you of your eligibility for the grant, s/he will then gently coax you to give your bank account details saying that the money will be deposited directly to your account or that the government will extract a paltry one-time processing fee before depositing the money. You will also be told that you do not need to pay back the money. This is the most observable pattern in a government grant telemarketing scam.

How to Protect Yourself from Government Grants Telemarketing Scams

In general, be wary of any “money for nothing” grants. Be it from the government or any other party, these are usually scams.

Apart from being able to identify the distinct way in which government grants telemarketers approach you, you should also know all the features that do NOT make a government grant.

The government does not send unsolicited letters or e-mails or call people to offer grants. Furthermore, government grants will not be handed to you on a platter. There is an application procedure involved wherein the applicant’s eligibility or merit to receive the grant is checked. So smell rats if someone calls you up to say that you have received a grant, when you know that you have not applied for any.

Whenever government grants are awarded, no fees are involved in them. You might at most be asked for some financial information to prove that you are eligible for a grant, but you would never need to pay money to acquire one. 

A government grant is never awarded because you are a conscientious taxpayer. The grant is typically awarded to states, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations to fund developmental, research, or humanitarian efforts. An individual may receive a government grant as part of some disaster relief scheme or to fund college expenses.

Government Grants Scams Awareness from Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) aims to make people aware about government grants telemarketing scams. Learn all the ways in which government grants telemarketers operate at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/phonefraud/government.shtml. If you are a victim of such a scam, lodge a complaint, online, at www.ftc.gov. You may also call the toll-free number 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261.