ALERT: The Mayor’s Scholarship Application is an Identity Theft Disaster Waiting to Happen
The TL;DR
The 2026 Mayor’s Scholarship Foundation application asks high school seniors to email their Social Security Numbers and parents’ W2 tax forms directly to a general township inbox. In an era of rampant cybercrime, this is a massive security failure that puts Bensalem families at risk of identity theft.
The Problem: Sensitive Data via Unsecured Channels
We all support the mission of the Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo Scholarship Foundation. Helping Bensalem students afford college is a noble goal. However, after reviewing the 2026 Application Form, I was alarmed by the dangerous data collection practices it mandates.
The application explicitly asks for two pieces of “Grade A” sensitive data:
- Social Security Numbers: The form requires the applicant’s full 9-digit Social Security Number.
- Unredacted Tax Forms: It demands that parents “ATTACH W2” forms to prove their annual salary. W2s contain the parents’ full SSNs, employer addresses, and income details.
The Smoking Gun: The bottom of the form states: “Can be submitted via email – mayorsoffice@bensalempa.gov”.
Why This is Dangerous: Standard email is not encrypted end-to-end. When a student scans their parents’ tax docs and emails them, that data passes through multiple servers in plain text. If the student’s email account is compromised or if the township’s general inbox is breached, hackers have everything they need to steal the identities of the entire family.
Furthermore, asking high schoolers to handle and transmit their parents’ full financial dossiers is a recipe for accidental data exposure.
Low-Cost Solutions (That Cost $0)
The Township does not need to buy expensive software to fix this. They just need to change the process. Here are three immediate, low-cost solutions the Mayor’s Office can implement today:
1. The “Redaction” Rule (Cost: $0)
The Fix: Instruct applicants to black out (redact) all Social Security Numbers on the W2s before submitting them. Why: The Scholarship Committee needs to verify income, not identity. They need to see the “Wages, tips, other compensation” box. They do not need the SSN to determine financial need.
2. Kill the SSN Field (Cost: $0)
The Fix: Remove the “Social Security #” line from the initial application. Why: There is no reason to collect an SSN from hundreds of applicants who might not win. Only request the SSN after a student has been selected, and do it via a secure phone call or in-person verification for tax purposes. Collecting it upfront creates a massive “honey pot” of data for hackers.
3. Use a Secure Form, Not Email (Cost: <$30/mo or Free)
The Fix: Stop accepting attachments via email. Use a secure intake form. How:
- Microsoft Forms / Google Forms: If the township uses Office 365 or Google Workspace, they already have this. A simple form with a “File Upload” button sends the documents directly to a secured cloud drive, encrypted at rest, rather than sitting in an email inbox.
- Dropbox Request: A “File Request” link allows people to upload documents to a secure folder without being able to see anyone else’s files.
The Verdict The Mayor’s Scholarship is a wonderful tradition, but its application process is stuck in 1995. In 2026, demanding unencrypted W2s via email isn’t just negligent—it’s dangerous. We urge the Foundation to issue an update immediately: Don’t email your SSN.
Research & Citations
- SSN Requirement: Application Page 2, Field: “Social Security #”.
- W2 Requirement: Application Page 3, Instruction: “ATTACH W2”.
- Submission Method: Application Page 3, Instruction: “Can be submitted via email – mayorsoffice@bensalempa.gov”.
Application for Mayor’s Scholarship
