Warn the students in your family: Data leak + student loan scam
Thieves are always on the lookout for new ways to rip you off. They often send phishing emails trying to trick you into clicking malicious links that install malware onto your device or steal account credentials.
More brazen criminals will even have the courage to call you on the phone. They will spin an elaborate scheme hoping to scam you out of your money. If you fall for a scam, some steps must be taken immediately. Tap or click here for details.
In this report, we’re going to cover a couple of issues that you need to know about. First, an education technology company left its database unprotected for anyone to see its data. Next, scammers are piggybacking on student loan forgiveness to try and rip you off. Keep reading for everything you need to know.
“Careless” approach to cybersecurity
Studying for your dream career is challenging, and most students need all the help they can get. Education technology company Chegg is one such entity, providing homework assistance through an app.
When you sign up, you must answer several questions, and the data is stored on Chegg’s servers. In theory, the data should be secure, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accuses Chegg of careless behavior.
According to a legal complaint, the company issued root login credentials to multiple employees and some outside contractors. That means anyone with those credentials had an all-access pass to some of the company’s databases. It was an open door for unauthorized people.
The FTC claims that a former Chegg contractor used the details to access information on an Amazon Web Services database. The information includes the names, email addresses and passwords of about 40 million users.
According to the New York Times, details on students’ religion, sexual orientation, disabilities and parents’ income were also taken. Some of the exposed data was found for sale online. Chegg is working with the FTC on a settlement for impacted users.
Student loan scams
The next thing you must be aware of is an elaborate scheme involving the recent student loan forgiveness program. Several victims have told the Better Business Bureau (BBB) about this scheme.
Here’s how it works. You receive a phone call from someone claiming to represent the student loan forgiveness program.
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