美国国家公共电台 NPR--Waiting for loan forgiveness, borrowers are targets for scammers

Waiting for loan forgiveness, borrowers are targets for scammers

Transcript¹

After President Biden announced his sweeping² student loan forgiveness plan in August, borrowers flooded the studentaid.gov website for information on what to do next. For a lot of them, the answers weren't particularly satisfying: sign up for an email alert and wait for the application to be released in early October.

Carolina Rodriguez says she's already getting emails from anxious clients worried about getting their debts forgiven before student loan payments resume in January. She's director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York.

"The stress is about to hit. As the weeks go by, the stress is going to be real," she says.

And that stress has left an opening for scammers to step into.

"It's a ripe environment for scammers to really prey³ on that kind of desperation," says Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, or TTP, a nonprofit organization that monitors tech companies.

Scams were a problem even before Biden's announcement. More than 1 in 10 Google ads for searches on student loan forgiveness were fraudulent, according to a TTP report in July. And while new data isn't yet available, experts tell NPR the problem has gotten worse in the weeks since Biden's big reveal, with borrowers encountering scams in text messages, phone calls and emails. There's even a gray area of legitimate⁴ companies asking borrowers to pay for student loan services that should be free.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says he's aware that "there are bad actors out there." He recently told NPR his advice to borrowers is simple: "Go to our website studentaid.gov/debtrelief to get information and don't go anywhere else. Don't open up those emails. Don't."

But promising⁵ borrowers debt relief and then asking them to hold on for over a month has left many vulnerable to fraud.

When asked why the administration did not wait to announce the program until the application was ready for borrowers, Cardona said, "we couldn't create an application if it hadn't been a policy that the president would have put forth⁶."

While the government takes the time to now build out the program, experts say borrowers are exposed on all sides: texts, emails, ads and phone calls.

Borrowers receive scam ads when they search for loan forgiveness

Searching out information on student debt relief, even before Biden's announcement, was tricky⁷. According to a July report from the TTP, 12% of the Google ads that appeared in searches for key terms around student loan forgiveness, were fraudulent.

TTP uses Google's ad guidelines to determine what is and isn't fake. Asking for personal information or payment before providing a good or a service is one of the most common red flags.

In the organization's next report, Paul says, "it's almost certain we'll see an increase in these scam ads" around loan forgiveness. "Not just because it's at the forefront and scammers like to capitalize on that opportunity, but we're also seeing a surge in people searching for this content."

Though TTP says it alerted Google to the high level of scam ads in July, the group says it found some of the same scam ads popping up after Biden's announcement in August.

"We're seeing dozens of ads slip through the cracks that can have real serious and material consequences for people who are trusting this major company and its search engine to offer up authoritative⁸ information," Paul says.

When asked for comment, a Google spokesperson said, "We reviewed the ads in question and removed those that breach⁹ our policies."

The company also said it is "committed to combating financial fraud in ads and protecting consumers from scams."

Scammers are phishing for borrowers through emails, texts and phone calls

Borrowers searching for information and finding scams is one thing, but scammers also seek out and find borrowers.

Hank Schless, of the mobile security company Lookout¹⁰, says borrowers should monitor their email inboxes, text messages, and spam calls. Also: Be wary¹¹ of anything with a time frame. Scammers will often try to convey a sense of urgency, sometimes with a false emergency, to gain access to information.

"All of a sudden, you could give up name, address, bank card information, Social Security information," Schless explains. "There's a lot tied to [student loans], which is why they're really being hammered so hard by the bad guys right now."

Scammers may also take advantage of the official email alerts borrowers are expecting, by sending emails that purport¹² to be from the U.S. Education Department. Schless says there are easy ways to check if an email is real.

"The thing you always want to do is validate¹³ the sender," he says. "The reason that these [scams] are successful in targeting mobile users is because the Gmail or Apple Mail or whatever [email app] you use kind of consolidates¹⁴ the sender email address and only shows their name a lot of the time."

Schless says anyone can claim to be the U.S. Education Department, but not everyone has access to a .gov email address. In order to validate the email, borrowers should click on the name to view the actual address.

Back in New York, Carolina Rodriguez says most of her clients have been getting scams over the phone rather than email.

She recently got a call from a borrower who said she needed Rodriguez's help to get in their student loan account because a caller had promised to get them loan forgiveness immediately. "No, that is not the case," Rodriguez told the borrower, "and let me explain."

Student loan services should be simple

Another concern is when semi-legitimate companies try to convince borrowers to pay for student loan services they don't need.

"It's borderline fraud because no one should have to pay for loan help," Rodriguez says. "But we had clients who say, 'Yeah, I went to a lot of webinars and then they wanted $400 or $600 to fill out the form.' "

Inviting¹⁵ borrowers to webinars, promising to get their loans forgiven if they use their service – Rodriguez says these are the hallmarks of companies that profit off of the student loan industry. They are legitimate because they do provide a service, but it's one that borrowers, in most cases, do not need.

Rodriguez reminds her clients that when the application for loan forgiveness does come out, there will be no need to have a company fill it out.

Secretary Cardona agrees. He says the department is going to make the process simple and quick, "we recognize the user experience matters."

The application should be the easy part; the hard part is the waiting game.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

8 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

9 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

10 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

11 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

12 purport   

n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是...

参考例句：

• Many theories purport to explain growth in terms of a single cause.许多理论都标榜以单一的原因解释生长。
• Her letter may purport her forthcoming arrival.她的来信可能意味着她快要到了。

13 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

14 consolidates   

巩固

参考例句：

• We've made a good start, now it's time to consolidate. 我们有了一个良好的开端，现在应该加以巩固。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Yuan Shih-k'ai, a would-be Oriental Bonaparte, now attempted to consolidate his power. 当时，一度可能成为东方波拿巴的袁世凯试图巩固他的权力。 来自英汉非文学 - 新闻报道

15 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。