I once got an email from a Kenyan prince (never mind that Kenya doesn’t have a prince) claiming that he found me through an internet search for “honest and trustworthy people”. He wanted to pay me to use my bank account to transfer money into the US. Offers for unemployment grants are scams, just like letters from African royalty.
The federal government does not give out grants to people who are out of work.
Aside from research and educational programs, the Federal government doesn’t typically give grants to individuals at all. So-called “stimulus grants” are available for governments and organizations, not for downsized workers.
Capitalizing on misunderstanding about the stimulus bill, seedy Web sites are popping up all advertising “stimulus grants” or “government assistance grants.” Some of them even managed to get “.org” status (I don’t know how). The FTC warns that these scammers have distributed computer viruses, fraudulently drained bank accounts, and stolen private information.
If you are an organization that actually qualifies for a grant, go directly to Grants.gov to make sure it’s real. If you already got scammed, call (877) FTC-HELP.
