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Scam & Fraud Awareness

Education scams cost Indian families crores every year. Learn to spot and avoid them.

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🚨 Red Flags 👥 Fake Agents 📱 Digital Scams 🧠 Pseudoscience 🏫 College Fraud ⭐ Fake Reviews 📖 Real Stories 🆘 Get Help
🚨 Instant Red Flags

If You Hear These, It's Probably a Scam

🚩 "Guaranteed Admission"

No one can guarantee admission. If results are entrance-based, there are no "contacts."

🚩 "Limited Seats - Pay Now"

Classic pressure tactic. Legitimate colleges don't pressure you to pay immediately.

🚩 "Rank Confirmation"

No coaching can confirm your rank. Entrance exams are standardized and supervised.

🚩 "100% Scholarship"

If someone guarantees full scholarship for fee, it's a scam. Real scholarships are merit/need based.

🚩 "Direct Admission"

Bypassing entrance exams = fake admission. Your degree won't be valid.

🚩 "Pay in Cash Only"

Legitimate institutions accept bank transfers with receipts. Cash = no trail = scam.

👥 Beware

Fake Counselors & Agents

How They Operate

  • 📞 Cold Calls

    "Your number came from CBSE database. We're helping students get direct admission to XYZ."

  • 🏢 Fake Offices

    Rented office spaces that disappear after collecting money. Often near colleges or coaching hubs.

  • 📝 Forged Documents

    Show fake "college tie-up letters" or "government authorization."

  • 🤝 Personal Trust

    Sometimes even relatives get involved unknowingly as "referrers." They get commission.

✅ How to Verify a Counselor

  • Ask for their company registration (CIN number)
  • Check if their website domain is registered properly
  • Search for reviews on Google, Glassdoor
  • Verify claimed college tie-ups directly with colleges
  • Never pay cash — always demand bank transfer receipts
  • Take 2-3 days to decide — genuine counselors won't pressure
📱 Digital Danger

WhatsApp / Telegram Scholarship Scams

🔴 Common Scam Messages

🎓 *Congratulations!*

You have been selected for the Central Government Scholarship worth ₹50,000!

Click the link below to claim your scholarship before it expires:

🔗 scholarship-gov-india.xyz.com

⏰ Valid for 24 hours only!

This is 100% fake. Real government scholarships are only on scholarships.gov.in and never contact via WhatsApp.

🟢 How to Spot Fake Messages

  • Strange links — government sites end in .gov.in, never .com or .xyz
  • Urgency — "24 hours only", "Last date today"
  • Asking for fees — Real scholarships never ask for processing fees
  • Asking for bank details — Legitimate portals never ask via WhatsApp
  • Too good to be true — ₹50K without application? Obviously fake.
  • Unknown sender — Forwarded from groups, origin unknown

💡 Remember

All legitimate government scholarship communications happen through the official NSP portal, your registered email, or via your institution. Never trust random WhatsApp forwards!

🧠 Pseudoscience Alert

"Midbrain Activation" & Miracle Learning

The "Blindfold" Illusion

This scam targets parents by promising to unlock "dormant" parts of a child's brain, enabling miraculous abilities like reading while blindfolded or identifying colors by smell.

🚩 Common Claims
  • "Unlocks the 3rd Eye" or "Zenith Power"
  • Allows reading, cycling, or drawing while blindfolded
  • Boosts IQ and memory to "Genius" levels in 2 days
  • Scientific-sounding jargon like "Delta waves" or "Pineal gland stimulation"

🔬 The Scientific Reality

There is zero scientific evidence that any "activation" allows humans to see without light entering the eyes.

  • The Peeking Trick: Children are taught to peek through the gap near the nose. This is a common magic trick.
  • Pressure to Lie: Children often succumb to pressure from parents and trainers, pretending to have "powers" to avoid disappointment.
  • Fraudulent Fees: Workshops often cost ₹15,000 to ₹50,000 for a single weekend.
  • Global Rejection: No reputable neuroscientific body recognizes Midbrain Activation as a legitimate practice.

🕵️ How to Burst the Scam (Simple Tests)

🥽
Swimmers' Goggles

Use blacked-out swimmers' goggles. They seal against the skin, making "nose-gap peeking" impossible.

📔
The Chin Barrier

Hold a large card horizontally under the child's chin. This blocks the downward view to the book or object.

📦
The Opaque Box

Place an object inside a shoe box and ask them to identify it through the cardboard. "Infrared" should work through boxes, right?

🏫 College Scams

"Tie-Up College" Frauds

How This Scam Works

  1. Agent claims to have "tie-up" with famous university
  2. Shows fake MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) letters
  3. Collects lakhs as "donation" or "capitation fee"
  4. Student either gets fake admission OR gets admitted to unrecognized course
  5. After 4 years, degree is worthless — no jobs, no further education

🚩 Signs of a Fake Tie-Up

  • "Don't contact the college directly, go through us"
  • Capitation fee in cash with no receipt
  • Agent office is different from college admission office
  • No information on college's official website

🔍 How to Verify a College

  • Check on AICTE website (for technical courses)
  • Check on BCI website (for law)
  • Check on UGC website (for universities)
  • Look for NAAC accreditation
  • Call college admission office directly using number from official website
  • Visit the campus physically before paying
Quick Verification Links

UGC: ugc.gov.in/fake-universities
AICTE: facilities.aicte-india.org/dashboard
NAAC: naac.gov.in

📖 Real Stories

Case Studies (Anonymous)

These are based on real cases. Names and details changed to protect victims.

Case 1: The ₹15 Lakh "Medical Seat"

What happened: Family paid ₹15 lakh for "confirmed MBBS seat" through agent. Got admission letter from unknown college in Ukraine.

Reality: College was not recognized by NMC. Student couldn't practice in India even after graduating.

Loss: ₹15L + 6 years + career uncertainty

Case 2: The "Government Scholarship" WhatsApp

What happened: Student clicked on WhatsApp link, filled "application," paid ₹2500 "processing fee."

Reality: Fake website. Bank details stolen. Account used for fraud transactions.

Loss: ₹2.5K + frozen bank account + police case

Case 3: The "IIT Guaranteed Rank" Coaching

What happened: Parents paid ₹3L for "IIT rank guarantee" course. Son didn't clear even JEE Mains.

Reality: Fine print said "rank guarantee" means any rank in any exam, not IIT admission. No refund.

Loss: ₹3L + mental health + 2 years

Case 4: The "Tie-Up" Engineering College

What happened: Agent showed MoU with famous university for B.Tech admission without entrance.

Reality: Fake MoU. College was not AICTE approved. Degree worthless, no placements.

Loss: ₹8L + 4 years + no employable degree

🆘 Take Action

If You've Been Scammed

Immediate Steps

  1. Document Everything: Save messages, receipts, recordings
  2. Don't Pay More: Scammers often ask for "additional fees" after initial payment
  3. File Cyber Crime Complaint: cybercrime.gov.in
  4. File Police FIR: Local police station
  5. Contact Bank: Report fraud, try to block transactions
  6. Consumer Court: For educational service fraud
📞 Helpline Numbers

Cyber Crime: 1930

National Consumer Helpline: 1800-11-4000

UGC Grievance: ugc.gov.in/contact

💚 Don't Be Ashamed

Scammers are professional criminals. Many smart, educated people fall victim. Report it — your complaint can prevent others from being scammed.

Stay Protected

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