In the last month, I have paid over $100 for membership fees and graduation stoles to the National Society of High School Scholars and the HonorSociety.org. I have not received either of these stoles nor have I gotten any further emails since then. I sent in a check to NSHSS and used a credit card for the honor society and haven’t received anything now. Are these scams? Should I be worried about them stealing my card/checking information?? Any help or advice is appreciated.
How long did they say it would take to receive the stoles? Maybe it takes a bit.
Always use credit cards because you can then dispute the charges.
Is it a scam? In the sense that you get membership to a society that is of dubious use and get a stole, no. Is it well thought of by anyone? No.
I’m so very sorry to be the bearer of very bad news.
NSHSS and Honor Society .org are scams. If the money was on your card, dispute it.
Neither of those organizations have any information about your son or daughter’s academic standing. They get no input from any school. They get names and addresses for kids and “honor” them by inviting them to spend outrageous sums of money on a stole that means absolutely nothing-- and may or may not be allowed to be worn at graduation.
The National Honor Society is legit. The others are not. Absolutely stop payment on the check and dispute the credit card charge.
I’m very happy to be the bearer of reality.
These societies are above water organizations doing exactly what they say they are doing. Are they the most prestigious societies in the history of mankind? No. Are they scams? No.
The answer is it’s up to you! Many people join either and many people are happy with either. If you need help from them reach out to them and ask. There are people there to help you. LinkedIn shows dozens of employees at both organizations.
Unfortunately there are people out there like the respondent above who believe they are doing good, to ruinous ends. In one brush stroke, she has scared an innocent poster to believe that they have been defrauded, painted two long-standing organizations as illegitimate, and created ill-advised work for numerous banks and credit cards to deal with it all. Slowly back away from that dispute everything rhetoric, and ask the societies where are the things you are expecting.
Reach out and contact the organizations directly, and they will help you with whatever they offer. I’m sure there is someone there to help you. 
Ask your child’s guidance counselor whether either “honor society” has requested any sort of info on grades.
College Confidential should have an Honor Society. ;^ )
Eh, the truth is somewhere in between.
Are they a scam in the sense that they promise to provide a service they are not providing? Technically no - assuming they send you the stole and list you as a “member”, they have fulfilled their promise. Membership in an organization and a stole, that’s it. If they don’t send the stole, then they did not fulfill their promise and you should absolutely dispute the charge.
But they definitely fall into the vast grey area of scammy, scummy organizations in that they are implying a promise of something they absolutely do not deliver. They imply that membership in their organization is prestigious or will confer some advantage to you - such as providing an advantage in college admissions. There is no advantage that these organizations offer because college admissions people know that they’re not representative of anything of substance. You simply pay a fee and become a member - nothing prestigious about that.
If they send you the stole, you like wearing it and it feels nice to be a “member”, then you haven’t been scammed. If you believe this is some sort of honor or prestige that others will recognize and will give you a benefit, then you’ve been a bit gullible and might want to see if you can get your money back.