How do scam scholarship emails actually work?

Hi everyone, I’m a professor and department chair at a state university in an urban area. I regularly get emails about so-called “scholarship opportunities” for students. Each email is almost identical, except for the name of the scholarship (usually named after a Dr.) and the URL. The scholarship focus changes each time, like “for students interested in healthcare” or “for students interested in hospitality.”

When you click on the link, it takes you to a website with a generic template, stock images, and the supposed Dr.’s headshot. If you search for the Dr.'s name, it often matches actual professionals in Missouri (I’m not in Missouri). These people sometimes have legitimate-looking websites and even Yelp reviews, but further digging shows some of them have been involved in COVID-related scams.

The emails include an opt-out link, but selecting it only stops that specific email, and new ones come in within a day or two with slight variations. I delete them as they appear, but I’m curious: how do these scams work? What exactly are they after?

They are usually after personal information—names, emails, phone numbers, and more. Some might also have malicious links in the email. It’s best not to click on anything and report these to your university’s IT department. You can also set up filters to automatically delete these emails.

@Riley
Exactly. Many of these scams rely on people clicking the links and providing personal details. OP, if you’re receiving these through your university email, your IT department should already have phishing guidelines in place. Also, it might help to maintain a list of legitimate scholarships for students to avoid this kind of confusion.

@Riley
Good advice. Thank you for the suggestion.

These scams often aim to steal identity information from students who sign up, or they charge an ‘application fee.’ Either way, they’re designed to exploit people financially or steal their personal data.