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Fake College Websites

Fake College Websites

Not all college websites are legitimate. Some are scams. These fake websites are designed to look like websites for real colleges. The goal of these sites is to trick prospective students into sending money or sharing personal information.  

How to Spot a Fake College Website

A fake college website may have:

  • Wrong or missing contact information: If there is no phone number, no address, or no one is answering you, the website might be fake.
  • A domain that doesn’t end in .edu: Most real colleges have websites that end in .edu. Fake sites may use .com, .net, .college, .education, or .university.
  • Promises that sound too good to be true: Fake colleges may say you can earn a degree without doing any homework. Some may also offer degrees in just a few weeks or allow you to obtain a degree based on experience alone.
  • Strange ways to pay: Real colleges will never ask you to pay using gift cards or cryptocurrency. Scammers use these methods because they are hard to trace.
  • Grammar or spelling mistakes: Fake websites often have misspelled words or confusing sentences.
  • Pushy advertising tactics: Fraudsters may use spam, pop-up ads, and high-pressure calls to advertise their fake school. Real colleges are less likely to do that.

How to Protect Yourself

  • Find the college’s contact information yourself: Don’t trust the phone number or email on the website right away. Look up the school independently. Then call or email to ask questions.
  • Look for real reviews: Try searching online for the college’s name to find past students and professors. Don’t rely only on reviews or stories on the college’s own website.
  • Check if the college is accredited: You can see if a college is accredited by looking it up on the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

Contact the Attorney General's Office

If you have a general consumer complaint, you may file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team:

Consumer Protection Team
P.O. Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
517-335-7599
Fax: 517-241-3771
Toll-free: 877-765-8388
Online complaint form