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<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=834265218-18072004>contact: <FONT size=2>Ilene Abrams </FONT><FONT
size=2><A
href="mailto:Abramsiabrams@berkeley.k12.ca.us">iabrams@berkeley.k12.ca.us</A>
</FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT></FONT> </DIV></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><FONT
size=2></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><FONT
size=2>Dear Berkeley High families,</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman">The following letter
is from the U.S. Department of Education regarding a scam on students who have
taken out student loans in college. Please read carefully and forward it
to others who might find it useful.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If you have any questions, please check the web sites listed
in the letter or e-mail me at <A
href="mailto:iabrams@berkeley.k12.ca.us">iabrams@berkeley.k12.ca.us</A>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Thanks</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Ilene Abrams</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>College Advisor</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="mailto:iabrams@berkeley.k12.ca.us">iabrams@berkeley.k12.ca.us</A>
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Dear partners in education,</FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">It was brought to our attention recently that
someone claiming to be a representative of the U.S. Department of Education (ED)
is calling students, offering them grants, and asking for their bank account
numbers so a processing fee can be charged. Specifically, the caller tells the
student he understands the student has federal student loans and offers to
replace the loans with an $8,000 grant. The caller explains that a processing
fee must be charged and obtains the student’s checking account
information.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">We urge you to remind your students that there
is no ED program to replace loans with grants and that there is no processing
fee to obtain Title IV grants from ED. Furthermore, students should never
provide their bank account or credit card information over the phone unless they
initiated the call and trust the company they are calling. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">We recommend that you immediately e-mail or
otherwise contact your current and incoming students to warn them about this
scam. A student who is a victim of this or a similar scam should take the
following steps:</FONT></P>
<OL type=1>
<LI><FONT face="Times New Roman">Immediately contact his or her bank, explain
the situation, and request that the bank monitor or close the compromised
account.</FONT>
<LI><FONT face="Times New Roman">Report the fraud to ED’s Office of Inspector
General hotline at 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or<U> </U></FONT><U><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#0000ff>oig.hotline@ed.gov</FONT></U><FONT
face="Times New Roman">. Special agents in the Office of Inspector General
investigate fraud involving federal education dollars.</FONT>
<LI><FONT face="Times New Roman">Report the fraud to the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC). The FTC has an online complaint form at
www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams and a hotline at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357;
teletype for the hearing impaired: 1-866-653-4261). The FTC will investigate
if the fraud is deemed widespread; therefore, it is important that every
student contacted by the person or people in question lodge a complaint so the
FTC has an accurate idea of how many incidents have occurred.</FONT>
<LI><FONT face="Times New Roman">Notify the police about the incident.
Impersonating a federal officer is a crime, as is identity theft.</FONT>
<BR></LI></OL>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">When filing complaints, the student should
provide detailed information about the incident, including what was said, the
name of the person who called, and from what number the call originated (if the
student was able to obtain it via Caller ID). Additionally, if
unauthorized debits have already appeared against the student’s bank account,
the student should mention this fact in his or her complaint. Records of such
debits could be useful in locating the wrongdoer. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">For information about identity theft prevention,
you and your students may visit</FONT><U> <FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#0000ff><www.ed.gov/misused></FONT></U><FONT
face="Times New Roman">. For information about preventing financial aid scams,
visit</FONT><U> <FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#0000ff><www.studentaid.ed.gov/lsa></FONT></U><FONT
face="Times New Roman">. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Cindy Forbes Cameron</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial>Student Aid
Awareness</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial>U.S. Dept of Education</FONT> <BR><FONT
face=Arial>www.studentaid.ed.gov</FONT> <BR><FONT
face=Arial>1-800-4-FED-AID</FONT> </P>
<DIV>
<P><FONT size=2>______________________________<BR>Janet Huseby and Kathryn Capps
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