Stimulus grant is a large sum of money allocated by the federal government primarily to projects that will help further develop the country’s economy and release it from its current state of economic crisis. The types of projects that are most likely funded include those that will create jobs and save existing ones, spur economic activity, invest in long-term economic growth, and foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.

Stimulus money, as indicated in the stimulus bill, is divided into specific categories based on population needs emerging in each category. Primarily, these categories include education, renewable energy, health, tax credits, and infrastructure development. According to Recovery.gov, those eligible to apply for the stimulus money are government and education organizations, for-profit and non-profit organizations, small businesses, and individuals on their own behalf.

Currently, numerous organizations and individuals are eagerly applying for stimulus grants. And, of course, the much talk about large sums of free money from the government are taken as a sign by scammers who will turn it into money making schemes for their own personal benefits. Sure enough, along with the ongoing buzz around stimulus grant applicants are all types of scams in every form imaginable.

Sad to say, due to almost realistic application forms and plausible scripts that scammers manage to present, people are oftentimes fooled by their tactics. These poor people are provided with false information about instantly receiving free money from the government in exchange of a small fee or their personal and/or financial information.

These scammers are very skilled that they can persuade you even only in a few magic words about you being specifically chosen by the U.S. federal government as one of the recipients of stimulus grants. Add to this the almost authentic federal logos, letterheads, forms, and many other you can instantly fall in their trap, especially if you are in dire need of financial help.

Scams come in the forms of e-mails and Internet advertisements. To help you easily identify stimulus scams, here are some pointers and reminders: 

Federal e-mails and notices are short and concise.
If you receive a lengthy e-mail or advertisement about stimulus grants, telling you how you were chosen as one of the recipients, this is sure to be a scam. First of all, the federal government does not post advertisements in various web sites. They use notices that they send to specific organizations inviting them to submit a proposal or fill out an application form.

Second, e-mails and notices from the federal governments and/or departments are short and concise. These are direct to the point and do not include lengthy explanations and much persuasion. Scam artists only use this method to cover their pretense and to further persuade the reader or viewer to believe them.

There are no processing fees when applying or receiving for stimulus grants.
Most ad or e-mail scams ask you to pay a certain amount of processing, application, or any other types of fee. Sometimes, they also ask you to give away your bank account information. If you fall for this, either you’ll never see the money you paid for the fee, or your bank account will be wiped clean!

Remember, the federal government will never directly ask applicants to pay for fees or give away personal and/or financial information. They are, in fact, the one providing free moneys; so, why will they ask money from you?!

However, most scams don’t mention this fee or bank account information at the forefront of their advertisements. These are usually found in the middle section or at the end after a long speech about persuading you and further fooling you about how much stimulus money you’ll receive. Either way, once you read about fees and financial information in an ad or email, you should know that it is a scam.

Federal e-mails and notices have valid and legit links.
Authentic e-mails and notices from the federal government or various sectors and/or departments provide valid and legit links and web sites to visit for additional information and resources. These links are indicated as complete web site address and are not fronted by highlighted words, as is the case with scams.

So, if you receive an e-mail or advertisement, telling you to “click here” or “follow this link” for more information, do not be fooled. This will only result to automatically installing harmful software, like spyware, on your computer that will end in the acquisition of your personal information including financial and bank account information.

It is, indeed, easy to spot e-mail or advertisement scams. However, if you happen to be applying for a stimulus grant at the time and you received a call or e-mail telling you that you have been chosen by the federal government as one of the recipients, you might have fallen for the bait. Don’t worry, though; most people do, especially those who are in great need of financial help.

Nonetheless, to avoid becoming a victim of these scams, be a keen observer and inspect every detail of an e-mail and/or advertisement before clicking on links or sending payments. Also, you can use the reminders mentioned above for determining if the e-mail, notice, or advertisement you received is legit and truthful. Do your research and avoid being fooled by stimulus scams!