Scams lurk in ads on Google searches for US student loan relief


TTP found that Alphabet Inc’s Google showed ads for services that charge ‘questionable fees’, imitate government agencies and request personal data from users for ‘unclear purposes’. — AFP Relaxnews

Searching Google for information about US student loan forgiveness surfaces advertisements that either appear to violate content policies or lead people to scams, according to a watchdog group, increasing public confusion as the Joe Biden administration mulls actions on student debt.

The Tech Transparency Project, a research arm of the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability, reviewed top searches related to student loans, such as “student loan forgiveness” and “cancel student debt”, to track the ads Google serves up. Of the 242 ads the group reviewed, TTP determined that 29 breached Google’s policies or displayed “scam characteristics”, representing almost 12% of the total.

Subscribe or renew your subscriptions to win prizes worth up to RM68,000!

Monthly Plan

RM13.90/month

Annual Plan

RM12.33/month

Billed as RM148.00/year

1 month

Free Trial

For new subscribers only


Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In Tech News

Google’s Chrome worth up to US$20bil if judge orders sale
STMicroelectronics maintains 2030 targets, cost savings to boost 2027-2028
Vivo launches X200 series with 200-megapixel Zeiss camera, starts at RM3,599
Taiwanese banks curtail Facebook ads over scam concerns
Entrepreneurs at start-up show hopeful funding bottlenecks ease in 2025
'Minecraft' to come to life in UK and US under theme park deal
Instagram will let users reset their content recommendations
All Touch 'n Go eWallet users must complete eKYC verification from Dec 20 to maintain access
Microsoft unveils software to ease AI app development, model switching
Bitcoin breaches $94,000 for the first time

Others Also Read