There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding student loan forgiveness — and scammers are taking advantage of the confusion. Hackers are preying on borrowers waiting for debt relief to trick them into coughing up personal data or paying money for fake assistance.
You might assume you’ll be able to identify scams, particularly if you’re a recent college graduate accustomed to navigating the dangerous potholes of digital scams. However, Gen Zers and millennials report falling victim to online schemes at a significantly higher rate than Baby Boomers, according to the National Cybersecurity Alliance.
Plus, bad actors are getting increasingly sophisticated in their student loan scheming, and it’s working. In the past two years, student loan borrowers were scammed out of $10 million in a scheme promising help with debt consolidation, lowering monthly payments and getting loan forgiveness, the Federal Trade Commission reported.
“If a scammer can get into a borrower’s account, they have been known to change the contact information and login credentials. I have seen scammers set up payments from the borrower’s bank account as monthly payments or service charges,” said Elaine Rubin, a student loan policy expert and CNET Money Expert Review Board member.
With a new incoming administration and so much still unclear about the fate of student loan programs, it’s creating a perfect storm for student loan scammers. If you have student loans, here’s how to spot debt relief scams right away, and what to do if you suspect you were scammed.
If you get a phone call about debt relief, it’s probably a scam
Though it’s certainly possible to receive a call from the federal government about your student loan program, getting one about student loan forgiveness is pretty rare.
If the Department of Education were to call you, the information would be general, such as announcing a forbearance period for anyone in the SAVE repayment plan, said Rubin. If the call uses your name, it’s likely not a legitimate call.
Your loan servicer might also call you, and the phone number may look legitimate. But if a caller asks you to take action for debt relief, to pay them money, or to share your personal or financial data, odds are it’s a scam. To be safe, you can hang up and call your servicer back on its official phone line.
It’s never safe to share your FSA information over the phone, even if you think the call is legitimate. If the person on the other end of the phone asks you to verify any personal or student loan account information, hang up and call your servicer.
Email scams are harder to spot, but fraudsters usually leave clues
Deciphering scam emails can be tricky, particularly if you check your email quickly on your phone. “Most cases involving broad student loan forgiveness will come from a .gov email address,” said Mark Kantrowitz, financial aid expert and CNET Money Expert Review Board member.
However, fraudsters have caught on and taken steps to make their emails look more legitimate, using “official” letterhead and links to the Department of Education’s official site. You’ll need to be discerning to weed out fraudulent emails.
“Scammers can forge the return address of an official email with a slight misspelling,” Kantrowitz warned. “So be careful and take a very close look at where it’s actually coming from.”
These are the only email handles the Department of Education will use when contacting you:
When your student loan servicer reaches out, Rubin said, it typically sends an email with a brief message and instructions on how to view the full message in your student loan portal. Instead of clicking on the link to the portal, log in to your student loan account to see if there’s a new message waiting for you.
“If you can’t tell if an email is real, do not engage,” Rubin said. Instead, she suggests checking your FSA account. If you can’t find a record of a notification, you should email or call StudentAid.gov or your servicer.
Be wary of links sent through text
When it comes to texts, the Department of Education’s messages will come from only these two numbers: 227722 or 51592. If you get a text from a different number, it likely isn’t legitimate.
Additionally, Kantrowitz said borrowers should know that communication from the Department of Education will provide information and won’t ask you to click on a link.
Asking for money up front is a surefire sign of a scam
Another way to spot scammers? Pay attention to what they’re asking you to do. If they ask you to pay up-front fees or they request that you sign a third-party authorization form permitting them to negotiate on your behalf, it’s probably a scam.
It’s illegal for any company to ask you for up-front fees to lower your debt, according to the FTC. It also won’t cost you up-front money to apply for loan forgiveness. In many cases, your relief will be automatic. Likewise, you won’t ever be charged to consolidate your student loans through the Department of Education.
If a company asks for money to assist you with your student loans, you can bet that’s a scam.
Don’t get rushed into taking action
In their phishing attempts, criminals may use language aimed at stirring up your emotions, said Michael Scheumack, chief marketing and innovation officer at IdentityIQ. They’ll often create a false sense of urgency and rush you into giving them information before you’ve had a chance to think.
“Don’t let fear tactics trick you,” Rubin said. It’s always better to take your time and reach out to your servicer or StudentAid.gov with any questions.
What to do if you fall for a student loan scam
If you suspect you may’ve fallen victim to a student loan scam, it’s important to reach out to your federal loan servicer immediately to ensure no recent actions were made on your loan account. If so, talk with your servicer to correct any errors. If the scammer has your Federal Student Aid ID and login information, try logging in to your account and changing your credentials. If you’re locked out, reach out to Student Aid.gov at 1-800-433-3243.
You can also contact your bank or credit card company to try to stop a payment if you paid a fee to a scammer.
Next, you should file a report with the FTC. You should also submit a report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Depending on the information you’ve shared, you could be at risk of further fraud. Consider these additional security measures.
Monitor your credit
Check your credit reports with all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) to make sure scammers haven’t opened any new accounts in your name. You can do this for free at AnnualCreditReport.com or sign up for a credit monitoring service.
Make tracking your credit easy with Experian.
Freeze your credit
You can freeze your credit reports to prevent anyone from opening a new loan or credit card in your name. If you decide to open a new account in the future, you can temporarily thaw your credit and then have it refrozen.
Sign up for identity theft protection
Consider companies like Aura, IdentityIQ and LifeLock by Norton for their identity theft protection and credit monitoring services. These companies track your credit reports and monitor other aspects of your finances like your investment accounts and even your home title.
Use a password manager
A password manager like Bitwarden or 1Password can increase security on your accounts with enhanced passwords that should be impossible to guess. These services typically cost less than $5 per month, and they also help organize all your passwords in one place.
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