Grant application fraud is becoming more prevalent in U.S.

You get a phone call, email or see an ad in a local newspaper or national magazine promising you free money from the government to pay for unpaid bills, education costs or business expenses.

You’re promised your grant application will be accepted and you’ll never have to pay the money back. All you must do to receive the money is pay a small fee. The caller may even reassure you of a refund if you’re not satisfied.

This is how a government grant scam works. In fact, you’ll never see the promised grant money and the scammer will disappear with your hardearned cash.

Each year, the U.S. awards nearly $450 billion in federal assistance, mostly in the form of grants. However, the federal government and private foundations don’t usually give out grants for personal debt consolidation or to pay for other personal needs. Grants are usually given only to serve a social good, such as bringing jobs to the area, training underemployed youth, preserving history, etc.

BBB offers these tips for avoiding grant scams:

■ Don’t give your bank account information to anyone over the phone or email. Always keep your account information private and only share it when you know the company and why the information is necessary.

■ Don’t trust caller ID. Scammers can spoof phone numbers on caller ID.

■ Keep in mind, obtaining a government grant is an involved process and one where the grant seeker pursues the funds, not the other way around. If someone is actively soliciting you to give you money, that’s a red flag you’re dealing with an imposter.

■ Check for look-alikes. Be sure to do your own research and see if an organization actually exists. Find contact information on your own and call to be sure the person you’ve heard from is legitimate.

■ Don’t pay money for a “free” government grant. If you have to pay money, it isn’t really free. An official list of all U.S. federal grant-making agencies is at www.grants.gov.

■ Take control of the calls you receive. If you want to reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive, place your telephone number on the National Do Not Call Registry by visiting donotcall.gov or calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-2904236) from the phone number you wish to register.

If you find yourself a victim of this scam, report it to BBB’s ScamTracker at www.bbb.org/ scamtracker. You can also report it to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP oratwww.f tc complaint assistant .gov.

For more information on ways to protect yourself from scammers, visit www.bbb.org or call (937) 222-5825 or (800) 7765301.