October 28, 2022

Students: Beware of debt relief scams

We posted about this a few weeks ago, but in this busy month, it’s worth repeating:

The U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission are working together to raise awareness about potential scams and misinformation that may be aimed at those seeking student loan debt relief. Beware of scammers who may contact you via email, text, phone calls, social media- and in ways we haven’t even thought of–to try trick you into revealing personal information or giving access to your bank and other financial accounts.

Some from the Department of Education’s blog:

  1. DON’T pay anyone who contacts you with promises of debt relief or loan forgiveness. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY ANYONE TO OBTAIN DEBT RELIEF. The application will be free and easy to use when it opens in October.
  2. DON’T reveal your FSA ID or account information or password to anyone who contacts you. The Department of Education and your federal student loan servicer will never call or email you asking for this information.
  3. DON’T ever give personal or financial information to an unfamiliar caller. When in doubt, hang up and call your student loan servicer directly. You can find your federal student loan servicer’s contact information at Studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers.
  4. DON’T refinance your federal student loans unless you know the risks. If you refinance federal student loans that are eligible for debt relief into a private loan, you will lose out on important benefits like one-time debt relief and flexible repayment plans for federal loans.

More information

U.S. Department of Education: Student Loan Debt Relief Do’s and Don’ts

Federal Trade Commission: Now that the student loan debt relief application is open, spot the scams

Axios: Student loan debt scams on the rise: Look for these signs.

National Public Radio: Biden administration steps up protection against student loan forgiveness scams

White House Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Boosts Administration-Wide Efforts to Protect Student Loan Borrowers from Scammers