Police Cautions Public against Scholarship Scams

Police has warned the public against scammers that are claiming to be raising funds to help vulnerable students as schools reopen next week.

In a Friday statement, Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga cited an incident in western Uganda where unscrupulous people were collecting money to support a student who had already secured sponsorship from an American organization.

"As schools prepare to open on the 10.01.2022, we have started getting concerns from the public, about conmen who are targeting vulnerable students, families and good Samaritans, with fake bursaries, scholarships and fundraising activities. For instance, there are fraudsters who are using the 'O' level results of a one Atucungwire Princess, who passed in Grade 1, from Kibingo Girls SSS, to solicit funds. We are asking the public to ignore the tweet that has gone viral, simply because the victim has already secured sponsorship from an American organization," Enanga said, adding that the suspects are being hunted.

"As a result a case file has been opened at Sheema police station, to track down the culprits. We are also using this opportunity to call upon any persons who could have fallen victim to this fundraising scam or other form of education scam, to liaise with the police at Sheema. The other common areas of fraud are; offers of bursaries and admissions to schools never applied for, processing fees for bursaries, companies with expensive and sometimes vague bursaries to mention but a few. The conmen use language and techniques which entice intending beneficiaries," he added.

"It is, therefore, important that parents and students do sufficient homework by researching about the scholarship or bursary. They should look for previous beneficiaries or students for legitimacy. In addition, it is important to correspond with the alleged sponsors in writing for record purposes. Usually, conmen are hesitant to correspond in writing which is a sign of fraudulent activity."