Student Debt Relief, or a Scam?

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By Crystal Baldwin

It is not every day that government relief is offered for paying off student loans. In the past, to help warn about scams, I can recall specifically saying something to the effect of, “The government doesn’t give you money to pay for your student loans.” Now that the government is, in fact, giving certain qualified borrowers some student loan debt relief (studentaid.gov), my blanket statement no longer applies. Criminal fraudsters may take advantage of this rare opportunity by representing themselves as providing this student loan debt relief.

Student loan debt relief scams - CAP: 1-800-649-2424 | blog.uvm.edu/cap

To make sure you are connected to the most accurate information when claiming your portion of the student loan forgiveness, connect with known legitimate sources.

Keys to detecting a student loan relief scam:

  • You never need to pay to claim your federal loan forgiveness. Hang up on calls asking you to pay!
  • The government does not solicit your participation in student loan relief programs, so you should not receive calls about it or click on ads offering student debt relief.
  • Hang up on callers asking for your Federal Student Aid/FSA ID. The Department of Education and your federal student loan servicer will not contact you to ask for this information. Keep your information safe from identity thieves, who may try to claim your student loan relief for themselves!
  • Companies offering debt relief in Vermont are required to be a licensed debt adjuster with the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) Division of Banking. If you are interested in consolidating student loans, make sure the business meets the licensing requirements of our state and verify this with DFR.

Have you been contacted by student loan debt relief scam? Help others by reporting it!

Our nation’s consumer protection agencies, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) are working together to hold scammers accountable. “Over the course of the last 18 months, the FTC has reached nearly $30 million in settlements that included refunds for tens of thousands of student borrowers who were illegally charged up front fees and falsely promised reduced or eliminated student loan payments” (whitehouse.gov). Since 2011, the CFPB has required “refunds of nearly $8.7 million to consumers and banning several individuals from the debt-relief payment processing industry…” (whitehouse.gov)

  • Report scams directly to the Federal Trade Commission: reportfraud.ftc.gov
  • Report scam calls to help the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) identify scam callers. Send your Student Loan Scam report to StudentLoanScams@fcc.gov and include the date of the call, time of the call, the recipient’s phone number, the number on the caller ID.
  • The Consumer Assistance Program is your state resource to help identify and report scams. File with CAP through our online scam form or call us at 1-800-649-2424.

Have a different student loan concern?

Find help and resources from the US Department of Education Office of the Inspector General.

Resources:

Federal Student Aid
The White House
US Department of Education
US Department of Education Office of the Inspector General

Shred events help to prevent identity theft

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By Crystal Baldwin

This weekend, I am going to a Shred Event hosted by a local bank. My several boxes of shred-necessary paperwork–you know the documents riddled with personal identifying numbers–already seem lighter.

Banks periodically host events where they gather one or more mobile shred trucks, equipped with an industrial shredder and invite the public to offload their shredding. Different from an at-home shredder, which slowly snips small amounts of paper at once with varying outputs, cutting long strips or crosswise. The shredder on a mobile shred truck can handle large quantities of paper. An entire box, for example, can be dumped into the receptacle at once, returning small bits of paper. In the world of paper shredding, industrial shredders are considered quick and supreme. The result of compounding shredders with the anonymity of event participants is a massive indiscernible pile of recyclable paper. 

Shred Events: Protect Your Identity
Shred Events: Protect Your Identity

Why shred events?

Shred events help prevent fraud and financial identity theft by giving people an easy way to dispose of confidential paperwork. We all have it, and we need a safe and secure way to dispose of it. All an identity thief needs to wreak havoc on our financial future is our Social Security number, date of birth, address, and name. Shred events benefit you by helping you protect your personal information. They help banks by way of protecting the information of their clientele and eliminating potential bank fraud and related recovery costs.

Identity thieves are online, so why do we need to shred paper?

News of data breaches and the message to stay safe online and protect your electronic information remains true and important. And still, some of the more involved and impactful crimes of identity theft, such as the creation of new accounts and huge losses, are often committed by people close to us: a relative, supposed friend, or neighbor. Some of these folks may know exactly where you keep your boxes of personal files.

Still others may forage trash the eve of trash pickup. If you carelessly discard confidential documentation, you could be directly supplying a thief with your information.

Destroying documents that you no longer need is the best method to prevent potential theft and misuse of that document. Keeping such documents around your home, or neglectfully discarding them in original form makes you more susceptible to identity theft.

Can shred events destroy my devices that contain my personal information?

No. Shred events are all about shredding paper. Personal devices cannot be discarded or wiped clean of personal data there. Prior to discarding or recycling electronic devices, consumers must take crucial steps to clear personal data off a device through a factory reset or destroy the dive/circuit board altogether.

How can I find a shred event near me?

Banks as well as community organizations host shred events. When you find an event, such as through an online event listing on a third-party site, like Facebook, take steps to verify directly with the hosting entity.

To learn more about identity theft and protection steps, please review the Consumer Assistance Program’s website and blog.

Free Cybersecurity Training for VT Small Businesses

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The Consumer Assistance Program of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office is hosting the Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Training, a free webinar about protecting your small business from data breaches, scams, and cyber-attacks. Representatives from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office will be joined by Microsoft on September 29th from 9:30-10:30 for a free virtual presentation on cybersecurity for small businesses.

This presentation will feature Vermont Assistant Attorney General Sarah L. J. Aceves from the Consumer Protection Division and will discuss the ways in which businesses can protect themselves from scams and respond to a data breach. Microsoft Suite users can stay on for an additional presentation by a Microsoft training expert, who will discuss the application of cybersecurity features within the platform. Vermont small businesses are invited to join us for this informative and interactive presentation.

Event: Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Training

Hosted by: Emily McDonnell, Small Business Advocate of the Vermont Consumer Assistance Program of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office

Presenters: Sarah L.J. Aceves, Vermont Assistant Attorney General
Jessica Harrison, Microsoft Training Manager

Date: Thursday, September 29, 2022

Time: 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM (Eastern Time)

Location: Online webinar

Cost: Free

Register: Click here for the webinar registration

Businesses can preview guidance as to what to do in the event of a security breach on the Vermont Attorney General’s website: VT Security Breach Notice Act Guidance. For more information on this webinar or resources for small businesses, contact Emily McDonnell, Small Business Advocate at AGO.SmallBusiness@vermont.gov.

Our office works to promote a private-public partnership to inform Vermont small businesses. Our goal is to give businesses the resources they need to comply with the expectations of commerce. Please understand our office is unable to provide legal advice and we do not endorse any specific business.

Vermont Business Imposter Email Scams Are on the Rise

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BURLINGTON – The Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) is warning Vermont business owners, non-profits, and employees about an uptick in business imposter email scams. In the last two months, CAP has received five reports of business imposter email scams resulting in a total loss of $210,799. Scammers are impersonating employees or familiar business representatives’ emails and contacting company bookkeepers and office administrators asking them to change bank account information, direct deposit information, or asking them to write checks. By impersonating an employee’s email address or creating a fake personal email for the employee, scammers can steal money from businesses and steal paychecks from employees.

$210,799 Business Imposter Loss in Vermont in July and August 2022
Business Imposter Loss – Vermont – July and August 2022

            Vermont businesses and non-profits should always verify email addresses and speak directly with an employee or business representative in person or via phone when sending money or changing payment information. Oftentimes, scammers will use an email address that only slightly varies from an employee’s true email. Be wary of any email coming from outside your company’s domain. CAP urges business owners to educate their entire company on scams that target businesses.

              Here are ways in which businesses and non-profits can better protect themselves and their employees from scams:

  1. Cybersecurity assessment: check internal controls and resolve vulnerabilities.
  2. Train staff regularly in cybersecurity and funds management protocols.
  3. Enlist internal protocols to verify the transfer of funds by engaging multiple staff members and voice verification, using trusted contact information.
  4. Help clientele identify common scams within the industry.
  5. The SLOW method can serve as a helpful starting point, encouraging parties to take their time during urgent transactions and connect with a trusted party like CAP.
  6. Never send money to parties you cannot verify.

            To learn more about how to protect your business from these scams, watch CAP’s Avoiding the Business Imposter Email Scam Video and review the steps to verify at https://ago.vermont.gov/cap/business-imposter/.

Avoiding the Business Imposter Email Scam

            If you or someone you know has lost money to this scam, contact law enforcement and report the scam to CAP online or call 1-800-649-2424 and speak to our Small Business Advocate.

When Computer Tech Support is a Scam 

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By Crystal Baldwin

Computer tech support scammers are imposters that immediately gain trust by using well-known company names like Norton, Microsoft, or Apple, or by expressing a desire to help fix a daunting problem. Ranking third among the scams with the highest dollar loss, $695,240, in Vermont in 2021, this scam is historically successful due to its ability to establish a sense of familiarity and legitimacy garnered by the scammer’s suggested affiliation with a company and their technical prowess. 

Scammers claim an account renewal payment has been processed or antivirus protection is needed. May claim to be Norton, Microsoft, or Apple. Contact CAP: 1-800-649-2424 ago.vermont.gov/cap
Computer Tech Support Scam Alert

In the computer tech support scam, you are contacted by phone, pop-up or email on your computer. The message spikes your anxiety and drives your response to be reactive. Tech scammers may claim, “There is a virus on your device,” “Your security subscription has been automatically renewed,” or “You have been charged for a year’s subscription of antivirus.” In the communication, a link or phone number is included, which you are urged to contact immediately to rectify the issue.  

While in reaction mode, you call, hoping to resolve the issue. During the call, the scammer will try to persuade you to give remote access to your device to fix the problem, and sometimes will ask for immediate payment for their services. In scenarios where a refund is requested, they facilitate what appears to be a transfer of funds by walking you through steps to log into your own online bank account. Utilizing their program and ability to freely roam on your computer while they have remote access, they disguise the origin of the funds transfer, which is in actuality a transfer of funds between your own bank accounts.  

Tech support scammers further escalate the call, using high tones of voice, demands of urgency, and call on your empathy to help solve a problem they created. The scammer’s tactics pull the recipient of the scam further into reaction mode. While in reaction mode, responses are based on impulse and with little additional collective data. Once a person has more information, through the process of asking questions and seeking out resources, the ability to think critically and problem-solve the issue comes back online.  

For this scam and consumer transactions generally, you can apply the SLOW method to disrupt the unpredictable reaction response by substituting a planned response instead. At the onset of the first communication, start with SLOW as a strategy to help you take steps to verify. 

Slow down! Log the Contact. Make One Call to a primary contact. Who cares? Reach out to CAP at 1-800-649-2424.
Stop scams with SLOW

S – Slow down – scammers pressure you to react urgently. Don’t! Instead, take a breath and find your calm by doing what is immediately natural to you.   

L – Log the contact – write down the information of the email, or phone call. If they are on the phone, you can tell them you will call them back, even if you don’t intend to. Then, disengage. 

O – One call – make one call to a primary contact, such as a friend or family member and discuss the incident. It works best if you have pre-established who this will be; someone you can trust no matter what. The contact is a sounding board, who will ask questions and help you get curious about the interaction. Some questions might include:  

How do I know the contact is who they say they are? –What proof is there? Where can I verify their contact information that is not part of the communication I received? –Was my credit card charged? What other parties can I contact that might know more about this? How can I be sure this is not a scam? 

W – Who cares? Contact another party or organization in your life who cares. The Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) can help you identify scams and report them: 1-800-649-2424 and ago.vermont.gov/cap 

Know what to watch out for in computer tech scams, so you can avoid them: 

  • Be wary of pop-ups and unexpected emails/phone calls.  
  • Watch out for security warnings and account renewals. 
  • Don’t trust contact information, like links, URLs and phone numbers provided in unexpected emails. 
  • Never click on links or provide remote access to your computer from an unknown email or source. 
  • If you received an email or pop-up message, you cannot click out of, don’t engage. Instead, shut down, restart, or unplug your device. 
  • If you get a call from “tech support,” hang up.  
  • Be careful when searching for tech support online. Some users have been scammed by calling illegitimate phone numbers listed on the internet.  

In the age of the internet and free flowing technology scammers hope to capitalize at every turn. You can prevent scams by practicing SLOW in all your consumer transactions now—and commit to being a primary contact for others. Everyone can help stop scams by following a scam prevention plan and sharing scam knowledge with your community.