BEWARE OF ADVERTISERS WHO USE OBAMA’S NAME
You should know that advertisers are not allowed to use President Obama’s name or likeness in any of their ads. There are many spammy emails that come to my mailbox that are trying to get you to click on the Obama grants link and it will take you to some online grant application website. Surfing the Internet will also occasionally uncover some sort of advertisement that either directly or indirectly hints that you can benefit from Obama’s stimulus grant program and they can show you how.
The FTC had to come in and stop a whole lot of these ads a year ago that were feeding off of the popularity of the new President and making it sound as though there were special grant programs and they could help you get free money. These ads were showing a picture of the President and using his name aggressively in their ads. People who didn’t understand that the grant programs are free to apply for were then being taken to websites that would charge monthly fees for their services.
There are many things today’s advertisers are targeting and they include aid packages that people think they can get from President Obama. They include things like:
Obama Pell grants
Obama scholarships
Obama college grants
Obama business grants
Obama education grants
Obama health grants
Obama school grants
Obama small business grants
Obama grants for Moms
Obama scholarships for Moms
Obama college grants for Moms
Obama single Mom grants
Obama school grants for Moms
Obama back to school grants
Obama back to school grants for Moms
While some of these are legitimate grant programs, in reality there is nothing here that wasn’t available from past presidents. These are all standard government grants that have nothing to do specifically with President Obama. Advertising with his name or hinting that he is somehow responsible and they are bigger and more easily available because of him is misleading.
You should also always read the terms and conditions before you sign up for anything and this is especially important if you are giving your credit card number out. The government grant process is confusing to many and there are some legitimate grant companies that will help you with the process. But you should do some research on the company first by doing an online Google search (for instance type in “scam” or “reviews” and then the company name) to see what people are saying about the service before you give your credit card out.
