Scammers have been using student loan forgiveness as bait to get personal information. NBC 6’s Sasha Jones reports
Help is on the way for millions of Americans with college debt, but the federal government is warning you to be on the lookout for scammers using the announcement as bait.
“It is a perfect storm for scammers,” Zulfikar Ramzan said.
Ramzan is the Chief Scientist at Cyber Security Company Aura. He said customers have already reported fraud attempts related to student loan forgiveness.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning to borrowers as well, saying, “You don’t need to do anything or pay anybody to sign up for the new program or the pause.” It went on to say there is no way to jump the line and “that anybody who says they can or tries to charge you is a 'liar and a scammer.'"
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“The scammer will approach the victim and say you know what, we can help you get ahead of the line, we can help you cut the line, you don’t want to be waiting, in the end,” Zulfikar said.
The most common ploys are telephone and email phishing attempts.
He said borrowers should watch out for unknown callers looking for personal information or emails from unknown companies.
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“Listen to the actual direct source from the federal government, they will give you the guidance,” Zulfikar said.
The Federal Student Loan website says if the U.S. Department of Education doesn’t have your income data then you will need to complete an application that will be available by early October.
Debt relief can be expected within 4-6 weeks later. In the meantime, Zulfikar said to be on the lookout for opportunists trying to profit from your good fortune.
“Some scammers are pretty bold,” Zulfikar said. “Don’t wait for someone to call you out of nowhere, don't give them your information, because it is most certainly a scam.”
Borrowers are being advised to apply for debt forgiveness by Nov. 15 in order to receive relief before the end of the year.
If you still paid your loans after the payment pause was enacted in March 2022 you may qualify for a refund. To find out if you qualify you would need to contact your student loan servicer.
