Scam Alert: United States Scholarship to Africa

A report has been lodged by one of GhanaWeb readers concerning a fictitious scholarship programme around the web inviting undergraduate and postgraduate African students to apply to study in the United States of America.

The scholarship programme called United States Scholarship to Africa operates using the website, www.ussafrica.org, bearing a list of about a dozen universities in the United States which they claim to be in partnership with to offer the scholarships.

Per checks conducted, these universities have no partnership with any body or institution to offer scholarships to African students like advertised by this fraudulent scholarship scheme.

Besides the universities mentioned on their website, www.ussafrica.org, there is a juicy offer attached to the fictitious scholarship which includes Free tuition, US$4,000 allowance and a part-time job while in school.

The website further demands a US$100 payment as an entry requirement with a stated rate in Naira, Nigeria's currency, to be paid into a Nigerian bank account.

The reply from one of the institutions, University of Arkansas says: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Our director, Michael Freeman, has been made aware of this program and it is indeed a scam. Please caution your friends and tell them to spread the word about their illegitimacy".

Students and the general public are therefore advised to be wary of such schemes and to spread the word to prevent others from being victims to this scam.