"Government Grant – $9,000 No Repayment" Text Scam
Government grant award notification — processing fee and SSN for fake federal grant
Congratulations! You have been selected for a government grant of $9,000. No repayment required. Claim now: federal-grants-claim.com
SMS
Confirmed scam
Grant amounts in the $5,000–$9,000 range are chosen specifically to stay below the gift tax reporting threshold.
Typical victim loss: $500–$3,000
FTC Consumer Sentinel 2024 — government impersonation median $1,400; prizes/grants median $900
First seen
Oct 2024
Category
Government
Attack vector
SMS
Trigger
Curiosity
4 red flags in this message
Unsolicited grant notification
Government grants require formal applications — they are never randomly awarded via SMS.
No repayment clause
Used to make it seem too good to pass up.
Processing fee
Variation demands upfront 'fee' before releasing grant — the entire scam.
Fake domain
Government grants go through grants.gov and agency-specific portals.
What happens if you click
Upfront 'processing fee' collected — no grant exists.
Full banking information collected during fake application.
Identity theft via SSN, DOB, address collected on fake form.
Fake Government domains used in this scam
1 identifiedScammers register multiple lookalike domains for the same campaign — rotating them to avoid spam filters. Any link from these domains is fraudulent.
1 fraudulent domain identified in this campaign.
Other versions of this message
Scammers rotate wording to bypass spam filters. All variations lead to the same outcome.
Federal grant program: You qualify for $7,500 in government assistance. Verify to receive.
GOVERNMENT GRANT: $9,000 approved for you. Processing fee of $150 required to release.
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Frequently asked questions
Does the government give out free grants by text?+
No. Government grants require competitive applications through grants.gov or agency-specific programs. They are never awarded via SMS notification.
What is the 'processing fee' variation of this scam?+
The victim pays a small fee ($150-$500) to 'release' their grant. No grant exists. The fee is the entire scam. Legitimate grants never require upfront fees.
Where can I find real government grant opportunities?+
At grants.gov — the official federal grants database. All legitimate programs are listed there.
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Check your message →First documented: October 2024
Source: FTC Consumer Sentinel 2024 — government impersonation median $1,400; prizes/grants median $900
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