Look-alike sites and agency impersonation

Impersonation is where most grant scams start. A site borrows a seal, a name, and a color scheme, and asks for the things a real agency would never request in that way.

Tells of an impersonator

• The domain isn't .gov (or ca.gov). California state agencies live on ca.gov subdomains; federal agencies on .gov. A site with "gov" in the name but a .com, .org, or .net ending is not the government. (This site is .org and says so on every page; see below.)
• The agency doesn't exist. "Federal Grants Administration," "National Grant Bureau," "Department of Grant Funding." Check the USA.gov agency index; HHS specifically warns that look-alike names are a known tactic.
• Agency symbols on a private pitch. HHS has flagged companies using its program names and seals to make paid seminars and "application tools" look endorsed. Agencies don't endorse private grant services.
• A login or payment form reached from an email link. Real portals are the ones you navigate to yourself. Type the address or start from grants.ca.gov or grants.gov.
• Urgency plus personal data. "Confirm your EIN and routing number within 24 hours or forfeit the award."

How to confirm the real thing

1. Go to grants.ca.gov or grants.gov directly and search the program name.
2. Compare the agency contact published there with whoever contacted you.
3. Call the agency on the number from its official site, not the number in the message.

Where this site fits

Grants for Nonprofits is not a government site and is designed not to look like one: no seal, no state branding, an .org domain, and a notice in every footer. We republish the California Grants Portal's public-domain listings so you can browse them without a paywall, and every grant page links to the agency's own application page and to the original listing on grants.ca.gov. We never ask for an EIN, bank details, or a fee, and we never email anyone who hasn't subscribed. If a message claims to be from us and asks for any of those things, it isn't.

Sources and where to report

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Avoid Grant Scams
• Federal Trade Commission, Prize and Grant Scams
• Report a scam: reportfraud.ftc.gov. Impersonation of a federal grant program: the HHS Fraud Hotline, 1-800-447-8477. A California state program being impersonated: contact that agency directly through its listing on grants.ca.gov.

Grants for Nonprofits is an independent directory. We do not investigate scams or take reports; use the official channels above.