Government Grant Scams

BobK — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:40:45 GMT

Late night infomercials and a myriad of web sites promise access to government grants ("free money") for starting a business. Are these claims legitimate?

Re: Government Grant Scams

scamhunter — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 03:45:19 GMT

Hi Bob,

Thanks for posting this, I'll put up a link to this excellent little article on my blog.

A little over a month ago after witnessing the surge in grant related scam sites I started my Grant Money Scams blog about this idiotic phenomenon as well as a Grant Scam Site Blacklist of offending sites.

Note: this blog is not one of those fake 'scam sites about scam sites' that you mention in the article; I do not provide external links to these scam sites nor do I affiliate with any of them.

Message Edited by NicoleD on 08-18-2009 09:38 PM

Re: Government Grant Scams

BusPlanMaster — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:03:58 GMT

Bob, it was probably inevitable that the scammers would show their ugly heads. Sadly, so many businesses are just so desperate for cash that they have a bigger audience that we would ever have anticipated.

While broadly speaking the government does not give grants to businesses, there is another way of approaching the topic. Most people automatically think of a grant as a "gimme". That really isn't accurate. Most business grants require that specific tasks be accomplished, and often the grant is released in stages depending on the completion of certain tasks. Those "tasks" are often related to scientific matters, but can also be related to reviving slum areas, training minorities for jobs, providing childcare in needy areas, as well as a host of other tasks, some in other countries.

If we can look at "grants" as "tasks that need to be accomplished, that just happen to be financed via a grant vehicle" then thousands more opportunities open up.

And we don't have to stop at federal grants. There are local, state and regional grants as well. Even lots of grants from non-profit institutions.

All of these grants basically say, "Here's a job. Can you do it?"

Responding to the grant requests with "Yes, I can!" means setting forth a specialized business plan, one that addresses the specific job at hand.

Yes, grants are still difficult to come by. We are in a tough economy. But let's look at the positive side, and get our energy working for us.

Re: Government Grant Scams

JoeGamer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:37:25 GMT

I see ads for this sort of thing all the time. Lots of email scams to, I think thats the #1 thing to be wary of. Usually banner ads aren't as frequent because the advertising networks don't let 'scams' get through, at least the reputable ones.

Omer A.

MMORPG / Game Music Site Owner

VG Alliance LLC (New Jersey)

Message Edited by NicoleD on 09-11-2009 09:52 AM

Re: Government Grant Scams

Apartmani — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:44:43 GMT

Im receving noumerous e-mails promising free government grants for business lately.. Ive must have been left my email on some spam site.

I just hope that there are not many peaople who actually pay money to a grant website..

Apartmani Rovinj

Message Edited by NicoleD on 09-11-2009 09:52 AM

Re: Government Grant Scams

samueljaxon — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:40:47 GMT

It is an obvious fact that some grant programs do permit eligible for-profit entities to compete for grant money, nevertheless, these are highly-specialized special programs (specialty crop research for example).

Buy essay

Message Edited by NicoleD on 09-11-2009 09:53 AM

Re: Government Grant Scams

Inktknal — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:56:36 GMT

That's just low, even for scammers. I don't know how they do it, but I thought that people always would trust governmental sites above others. It's good to always look to the source and do some homework so that you don't pay for free government grants.

Inktknal Oosteeklo

Message Edited by Christine_Lai on 09-08-2009 12:13 PM

Re: Government Grant Scams

wwilliamklein — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:19:15 GMT

Many are tricked, in part, because these government loan scams use real sounding names to fool people. Some of the scams use actual names of well known financial instutions and government agencies. If you go to their website it will probably look very respectable and sophisticated. Designing a legitimate looking website is part of the scheme. If you're sent to a website for more information or to fill out forms it makes many people feel more comfortable with the whole deal. The part that fools people is that the website domains will be just a little bit different than those of the real financial or government websites. Just different enough to trick you. Real government websites usually, but not always, have domains ending in .gov which is difficult to forge. 640-802 Bear in mind that you can make a link say anything you want. Where that link takes you is another story. When the link says government-loans.gov but once clicked you are taken to government-loans.com you should be on your guard.

Message Edited by NicoleD on 08-18-2009 09:39 PM

Re: Government Grant Scams

croatia — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:30:27 GMT

The internet seems full of ads for free grants for just about any purpose imaginable - education, home repair, just to name a few.

Here in Croatia, government grants are usually awarded to groups or individuals who are using the money to help their communities, not to individuals !!!.

The Croatia government also does not charge a processing fee for their grants as their services are funded by tax dollars. Another key difference between legitimate government grants and scams is that you will not be asked to provide personal information over the phone.

Message Edited by NicoleD on 08-26-2009 10:05 AM

Re: Government Grant Scams

locksmiths — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:51:44 GMT

Thanks for creating awareness about scam sites and how they are going to cheat. Thanks for this information.

locksmiths

Message Edited by NicoleD on 09-07-2009 05:05 PM

Re: Government Grant Scams

paulwilliams — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:14:25 GMT

I think today one must pay close attention to what is offered on the web, especially when it asks for money and does not provide any guarantees...

_________________

Marketing Mix Papers

Message Edited by NicoleD on 09-11-2009 09:53 AM