SCAMS: There’s always going to be handful of people who are going to do everything they can to get your money into their pockets.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro recently warned college and graduate students who are returning to school now to watch for financial scams.

“As students return to school this fall, I want to make sure they have the resources to avoid getting scammed and losing out financially,” Shapiro said. “My Bureau of Consumer Protection is here to protect Pennsylvanians and support young adults as they venture out on their own and take on new responsibilities.”

The types of scams that commonly target students include:

• Groups posing as legitimate scholarships, grants or financial aid. The student is contacted by someone with money for their college education who asked for financial information or upfront fees.

• Someone contacting the student or parents claiming that a tuition bill needs to be paid immediately to avoid negative consequences. Call the school’s financial aid office to confirm unpaid bills.

• A person offering a job online that promises quick, easy money. This scammer will ask for money upfront before being given a job.

• Fake website offerings great deals on expensive textbooks, then either never delivering the book or delivering a flawed edition.

• Someone posing as a person selling or renting property. The student is asked for money up front before being shown the property, then learns there was never a property to rent or buy.

Shapiro recommends that any consumer who believes they have been scammed call the Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555 or scams@attorneygeneral.gov. Consumers can sign up for free consumer text alerts from the Office of Attorney General by visiting https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/consumer-alerts/.