Scholarship scams in Ghana and how to spot them
If you have to pay to get a scholarship, it is almost certainly a scam. Real scholarships, from universities, foundations and the Ghana Scholarships Authority, never charge a fee to apply or to release an award, and nobody can guarantee one. Check every offer on the official website of the body that is supposed to be giving it, and never send money, your passport or your login details to claim it.
How do I know if a scholarship is a scam?
If you have to pay to receive it, it is almost certainly a scam. Real scholarships never charge a fee to apply, to "process" your award or to release the money. And no one can guarantee you a scholarship, because only the body giving it decides.
Scammers know how much a scholarship means to a Ghanaian family. Their messages look official, use real names and arrive at moments of hope. The rules below protect you whatever the message looks like.
What are the warning signs?
Six, drawn from the US Federal Trade Commission's guidance and the scams reported in Ghana. Any one of them is reason to stop:
- A fee to apply, process or release the award. Real scholarships do not charge one.
- A guarantee. "You are sure to win" or "money back if you do not get it". Nobody can promise an award.
- "You have been selected" for a scholarship you never applied for.
- A request for your bank, card or mobile money details to "confirm eligibility" or "hold" the award.
- Pressure to act fast: pay today, or the offer goes to someone else.
- Contact from a private number or address, such as a WhatsApp number or a free email account, rather than the organisation's official channels.
What tricks are used on Ghanaian students?
Most fall into four patterns, and they target parents as often as students:
| Trick | What it looks like | The truth |
|---|---|---|
| The fake official | A call or message claiming to be from the US Embassy, EducationUSA or a ministry, offering a scholarship for a down payment | The US Embassy in Accra has warned about these calls. Official programmes do not charge to apply |
| The fee cascade | A "processing fee", then a "registration fee", then a "release fee", each a little larger | Each payment buys only the next demand |
| The connection | Someone who says they can get you a government scholarship through contacts, for a fee | The Ghana Scholarships Authority says its processes are free, and no third party collects fees for it |
| The guaranteed package | An agent who promises admission, a scholarship and a visa together | No one controls any of the three, and the Embassy says no one can guarantee a visa |
Look out, too, for fake university offers: an admission letter with a scholarship from a university you never applied to, or one that does not exist. Search for the university yourself, rather than using any link in the message.
How do scammers find students?
Mostly through the places where students look for opportunities. Scam offers spread through WhatsApp forwards, Facebook and Telegram groups, and pages that copy a real programme's name and logo. Some scammers read public posts, so a student who announces their plans or results online can receive a "personal" offer within days.
Two habits make you a harder target:
- Keep your details private. Do not post your phone number, full date of birth or application details in open groups.
- Treat forwarded messages as rumours. A real opportunity can always be found on the organisation's own site. If it cannot, it is not real.
How do I check whether an offer is real?
Go to the source yourself. Never rely on the message's own links, phone numbers or "verification" pages. Five steps:
- Find the organisation's official website by searching for it, not by clicking a link in the message.
- Check that the scholarship appears there, with the same name and terms.
- Contact the organisation through its official details from that website, and ask whether the offer is genuine.
- Check the sender. Universities write from their own domain, often ending in .edu for US universities. Ghana government bodies use .gov.gh.
- Ask someone you trust: your school, EducationUSA in Accra or Kumasi, or the university's admissions office.
For Ghana government scholarships, check scholarships.gov.gh. For the Mastercard Foundation, check the partner university's own page. For a US university, check its admissions or financial aid website.
Is a university application fee a scam too?
No, as long as you pay it to the university itself. Many US universities charge an application fee, and the CSS Profile has a fee. Both are paid through the official portal: the Common App, the university's own application system or the College Board's website.
What separates them from a scam is where the money goes. A real fee is paid online, to the university or the College Board, at a published amount, and many offer waivers. A scam asks you to pay a person, by mobile money or cash, an amount that appears in no official place.
The same goes for the visa. The US visa fee and the SEVIS fee are paid through the official US government systems, not to an agent's account.
What should I do if I have already paid?
Act at once, and keep everything:
- Stop paying. No further payment will recover the first one.
- Keep the evidence: messages, phone numbers, receipts and account names.
- Contact your mobile money provider or bank straight away, and ask whether the payment can be stopped or traced.
- Report it to the police, with the evidence.
- Change any passwords you shared, including your email and any application portals.
If someone claimed to act for the Ghana Scholarships Authority, report it to the Authority too. If they claimed to be the US Embassy or EducationUSA, tell the Embassy. Reporting helps the next family as well as yours.
Where do real scholarships for Ghanaian students come from?
From a small number of known sources, and none of them charges you to apply. The money that funds most Ghanaian undergraduates abroad comes from the universities themselves, as need-based aid. Beyond that come named programmes such as the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and the Ashinaga Africa Initiative, and government awards through the Ghana Scholarships Authority.
Our guide to scholarships for Ghanaian students lists the real routes and how to apply to each. If an "opportunity" fits none of them, treat it with extra care.
What should I do first?
Make one rule for your family today: no one pays any money for a scholarship without checking it with the organisation directly. Then save the official websites of the scholarships you are aiming for, so you always know where to check.
If you receive an offer and are not sure whether it is real, send us a message on WhatsApp and we will help you check it.
Questions people ask
How can I tell if a scholarship is fake?
Ask three questions. Does it ask you to pay? Does it guarantee you will win? Can you find it on the official website of the body giving it? A yes, a yes or a no means walk away.
Do real scholarships ask for a processing fee?
No. Real scholarships do not charge a fee to apply, to process or to release an award. A university may charge an application fee for admission, which is different, and it is paid to the university directly through its own portal.
Does the US Embassy or EducationUSA call students about scholarships?
Not to ask for money. The US Embassy in Accra has warned about calls from people claiming to be from the Embassy or EducationUSA, offering scholarships for a down payment. Official US government educational and exchange programmes do not require a payment to apply.
What should I do if I have already paid a scammer?
Stop paying, keep every message and receipt, and report it to the police. If you paid by mobile money or bank transfer, contact your provider at once. Change any passwords you shared.