Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro warned consumers of scams related to a recent settlement with Career Education Corporation (CEC).
Earlier this month, CEC agreed to waive collection of $493.7 million in student debts to settle a multistate investigation into its alleged deceptive recruitment and enrollment practices.
In Pennsylvania alone, 12,600 students who attended schools affiliated with CEC such Sanford-Brown and Le Cordon Bleu will benefit from the settlement. Pennsylvanians eligible for student debt forgiveness will receive notifications from the company within the next six weeks.
Unfortunately, scammers saw the CEC settlement as an opportunity to make money by misleading consumers and obtaining their personal information.
A number of Pennsylvanians reported to the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection that likely scammers contacted about the CEC settlement.
Shapiro tells consumers to “be careful with their personal information”
On Wednesday, Shapiro advised consumers not to give any personal information such as their social security number or respond to scams.
