Common Admission Scams Targeting International Applicants to US Universities

Fake acceptance letters

Scammers copy a real university's logo, letterhead, and even staff names to send a convincing fake acceptance letter, sometimes for a school you never applied to. The letter usually pushes urgency, asking you to pay a deposit within 24 to 48 hours to hold your seat. Verify every offer directly through your applicant portal on the school's own website, not the email attachment, and call the admissions office using the phone number listed on the school's official .edu site, not the number printed in the letter.

Fraudulent fee and deposit demands

Legitimate schools collect application fees, deposits, and tuition through their own official payment portal or a named third-party processor listed on the school's website. Treat any request to wire money to a personal bank account, send a gift card code, or pay through an unfamiliar app as fraud, regardless of how official the request looks. If in doubt, call the school's bursar or admissions office directly before paying anything.

Impersonated admissions officers and recruiters

Fraudsters pose as admissions staff or US education consultants on WhatsApp, Telegram, or social media, offering guaranteed admission or a scholarship in exchange for an upfront fee. No legitimate school guarantees admission before reviewing your full application, and no real financial aid office asks for payment to release a scholarship. If someone reaches out to you first with an offer you never applied for, treat it as fraud until you verify it directly with the school.

Phishing for your login and personal data

Fake login pages built to mimic a school's applicant portal or your SEVIS record exist to steal your username, password, or Social Security number the moment you enter them. Type the school's web address in directly rather than clicking a link in an unexpected email, and check the URL bar carefully before entering any credentials.

Fake schools built only to hold F-1 status

US authorities have run enforcement operations against fraudulent schools that had no real classes and existed only to enroll students on paper so they could hold F-1 status. Students who enrolled at such schools, even unknowingly, faced serious immigration consequences. Confirm SEVP certification directly at the SEVP school search tool before paying any deposit connected to your Form I-20, and be wary of any school with no in-person classes, no real campus, or an admission process disconnected from your actual academic record.

Fake scholarship and financial aid offers

A message claiming you won a scholarship you never applied for, especially one that asks for a processing fee to release the funds, is fraud. Real scholarships either apply automatically based on your admission application or require a specific application you submitted yourself, and no legitimate scholarship charges a fee to disburse an award. Verify any surprise scholarship offer directly with the school's financial aid office using contact details from its official website.

Fake calls claiming to be immigration officials

Scammers sometimes call or message pretending to be from USCIS, ICE, or a consulate, claiming a problem with your visa or SEVIS record that requires immediate payment to resolve. US immigration agencies do not resolve visa or SEVIS problems by demanding payment over the phone or through gift cards. If you get a call like this, hang up and contact your school's international student office or the agency directly through its official website, not a callback number the caller gives you.

What a real school never does

• Ask you to pay a deposit, fee, or fine through a wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency.

• Guarantee admission before reviewing a completed application.

• Contact you first, out of nowhere, with a scholarship or admission offer for a program you never applied to.

• Threaten immediate visa cancellation over the phone unless you pay on the spot.

How to verify a real offer

• Log into the applicant portal directly through the school's official website, not a link from an email.

• Call the admissions office using the number listed on the school's .edu site.

• Confirm the SEVIS ID and school name on your I-20 match what your Designated School Official (DSO) confirms directly.

• Search the school's name plus scam or fraud alert before paying anything, since many university international offices post warnings about specific scams targeting their applicants.

If a sponsor or parent is paying on your behalf

Scammers sometimes target parents or sponsors directly, since a wire transfer from abroad is harder to reverse and a parent may not recognize a school's normal communication style. Share the official admissions portal login and the school's official phone number with whoever is paying, so they can verify independently before sending money rather than trusting a forwarded email.

Verify through a second channel

Before paying anything tied to an offer, verify it through a channel separate from the one the offer arrived on. If the acceptance came by email, call the school. If it came by phone, check your applicant portal or email the admissions office directly using an address you find on the school's own website. A real offer holds up across every channel. A fake one usually falls apart the moment you check a second source.

Where to report a scam

Report suspected fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov , and report SEVP-related school fraud through studyinthestates.dhs.gov . If you already sent money, contact your bank immediately to ask about reversing the transfer.