Government Grant Website Scams

Apparently there are a lot of websites offering government grant money if you pay some kind of application fee.

Don't fall for this! Keep a few things in mind:

1. Official government websites end in .gov (unlike the scam sites).

2. There is no fee for applying for a genuine government grant.

3. A list of real grants can be found here: http://grants.gov (note the .gov domain). 
But don't get your hopes up on finding one that gives you (an individual) free money.  Remember--the government is much better at taking your money than giving money to you.  

4. If you are foolish enough to buy an application on one of these sites, expect some nasty surprises on your credit card bill (even if your initial payment was only a couple of dollars).  Most of these scams sites will start adding monthly charges to your credit card.