AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Even if you don’t have a student loan, you may have received a call from a scammer claiming to help you take care of it.
These scams have been around for years, and you can bet that scammers will take advantage of the new student loan forgiveness program to take money from people hoping to get their loans forgiven.
The Federal Trade Commission warns consumers about similar scams and how they work. When it comes to student loan fraud, they often trick people into making prepayments.
Some of these scams may come via e-mail, but many spam blockers send those e-mails directly to the trash or spam folder.
Phone calls and texts are easy to send and rarely get blocked. The call may not be a typical robocall where no one speaks until you pick up and stay on the line.
Student loan scam calls usually have a real person on the other end of the line. The scammer looks professional and will probably call you by name.
They give you a case number which gives the impression that it is legitimate. The FTC warns that student loan fraudsters will rush your loan forgiveness application or immediately process your application as false.
They will ask you to pay upfront fees to start the process. The scammer may claim to have a relationship with the Department of Education to expedite the process, but the FTC cautions third-party companies against such relationships.
In the year In 2017, the FTC charged the company’s student debt doctor with “operationalized loans” and sent nearly 23,000 victims fraudulent checks in July.
The only way to get information about loan forgiveness is to go to the government’s website at www.studentaid.gov, but due to traffic, the site is often overloaded with visitors and down.
Other warnings from the FTC:
- Only scammers promise fast loan forgiveness.
- Never make a down payment.
- Fraudsters can spoof email addresses and government stamps to appear official.
- Do not share your FSA or FAFSA ID number.
There is no urgency for people to apply for student loan forgiveness. Part of the plan is that student loan payments are suspended until the end of the year, and applications for the program won’t be open for a few weeks.
To report fraud to the FTC, visit www.ftc.gov/complaint.
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