Scammers are exploiting a combination hope and confusion
of ConsumerAffairs
Millions of Americans have student loans and despite Biden administration proposals to partially forgive them, those debts are still on the books.
Thats opened the door for scammers who want to exploit a combination of confusion and hope. Theyre sending out unsolicited texts with information about Biden loan forgiveness or stimulus forgiveness, programs that do not exist.
Many of these scam texts promise loan forgiveness, but only if the borrower acts quickly. But people who respond do not get loan forgiveness. They may actually lose money and their personal information will be compromised.
But after two years of inflation, many borrowers desperately want to get relief, leading to an increase in these schemes.
The U.S. Department of Education has offered these tips for identifying a student loan forgiveness scam:
An aggressive pitch with phrases like:
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Act immediately to qualify for student loan forgiveness before the program is discontinued.
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Your student loans may qualify for complete discharge. Enrollments are first come, first served.
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Student alerts: Your student loan is flagged for forgiveness pending verification. Call now!
Although the U.S. Department of Education may reach out to highlight temporary programs, aggressive advertising language like the above will not come from the government or its partners.
Promises that are too good to be true
Scammers will frequently request an up-front or monthly fee while promising immediate and total student loan cancellation. Most government forgiveness programs require years of qualifying payments and/or employment in certain fields before forgiving loans.
Requests for Log-In Info
A scammer may even ask for your StudentAid.gov account information, like your account username and password. This is a red flag. Legitimate loan servicers will never ask for your password. Thats a guarantee.
Some scammers mimic the U.S. Department of Education or official servicers by using lookalike websites and email addresses. Remember, official communications only come from specific addresses, such as addresses that end in ".gov."
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-11-12 14:31:20
