Fake government grant / free money scam — fraudulent email claims the recipient has been approved or selected for a government grant, federal award, or stimulus payment that "never needs to be repaid," then demands a processing or administration fee or harvests bank account and routing numbers to "disburse" funds that never arrive

Fraudulent emails claiming the recipient has been "approved," "pre-approved," "qualified," or "selected" for a government grant, federal award, or stimulus payment of several thousand dollars that "never needs to be repaid" — then requiring payment of a processing, registration, or administration fee before the funds can be disbursed, or requesting bank account and routing numbers to "direct deposit" the grant. No US government agency notifies individuals of unsolicited grant approvals by email; all legitimate federal grants require a formal application process through grants.gov or agency portals. Key facts: (1) FTC 2023: government impostor fraud caused $462M+ in losses; grant-specific scams are consistently in the top 5 government fraud categories reported to the FTC; (2) The phrase "never needs to be repaid" in a cold email is a near-universal scam signal — it is designed to distinguish this from a loan and reduce skepticism; (3) Any upfront fee to receive a government grant is fraudulent — legitimate government disbursements never require fees from recipients; (4) These campaigns exploded during COVID-19 stimulus programs and remain elevated as scammers exploit ongoing awareness of legitimate programs. Warning signs: unsolicited "grant approved" email, "government grant" language from a non-.gov domain, any upfront fee to release grant funds, request for bank account or routing numbers in response to an unsolicited email.