There is a huge demand now for access to the various available scholarships and due to this increase in demand there are now a large number of scholarship scams and  schemes. The internet has made scholarships more available to prospective applicants but it has also been a major reason for the large increase in the number of scholarship scams.

However, there are several rules you can follow when choosing which scholarship to apply for. If you follow these guidelines you will not be among the unfortunate victims of a scholarship scam. Many prospective applicants lose millions of dollars each year to these scams, it is important to be able to recognize a genuine funding opportunity as well as knowing which ones to avoid.

Here are a few tips that will keep you safe from the activities of fraudsters.

• Never pay for scholarship processing
This is rule no 1, no genuine scholarship fund that intends to give you money will ask you to pay a "fee" or charge towards processing your application, any such requests for money should put you on your guard.

Do not respond to such requests especially when it asks you to give out your credit card information or bank details. Do not pay any websites to help you in searching for a scholarship either; you're just setting yourself up to get scammed if you do that.

• Any scholarship that says it will do all the processing work if you pay a fee is a fake. Remember the first rule; a real scholarship will only give you all the application details you need to know and encourage you to fill out your forms for submission without a fee; and remember no credit card or bank details requests either.

Don't be deceived, applying for and receiving a scholarship award is not easy because the competition for such grants is always so high. No genuine scholarship provider will fill out government FAFSA or private application forms for applicants and tell you they will do all the work on your behalf.

• Any website that tells you that its scholarship information is exclusive is a fraud. All genuine scholarship application details are available for free and open to the public. The aim of scholarships is to get as many people as possible to put in free applications then pick the most deserving candidates

• You will not win any scholarships you did not apply for. Do not respond to emails claiming you have won a scholarship that you never applied for in the first place. These kinds of scams will quickly be followed up by a request for money or credit details.

If you have filled out a government FAFSA application and the government deems that you qualify for further grants, public or private, you will most likely be notified directly by these organizations either through your student counselor or directly by postal mail..

• Be on the lookout also for programs that ask you to pay after you have applied. It might say you have won the scholarship but need to pay a certain amount to have access to it. Any such scholarship is fake, do not respond to any such requests.

• Beware of any offer that has no clear eligibility requirements, most genuine scholarships are looking for one criterion or a number of them. Almost none of them will be open to everyone..

The national fraud information center is a good place to get information concerning any suspicious organization or website.

If you are suspicious of any scholarships you find online, take the time to find out more about the organization or foundation that is behind the scholarship award. Search for news articles about the scholarship that will shed more light on if it is a genuine prospect or not.

Fraudsters work on the desperation of prospective students to gain scholarships. Any funding offer that seems too good to be true is probably just that; too good to be true.

Money back offers too are a no go area for scholarships. Any supposed scholarship offer that gives a money back guarantee is also most likely a scam.

If you keep these tips in mind, you'll avoid being a victim of scholarship scams.