Headlines have been swirling around about federal student loans, the Supreme Court’s decision and repayments starting back up in October. Scammers tend to take advantage of big news like this, so keep these tips in mind if you see offers for repayment “help”:
- Don’t pay for help with your student loans. You can get help for free at StudentAid.gov/repay. For private loans, you should speak directly with your loan servicer.
- Never share your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID login credentials. Scammers will get creative with reasons why you should share your login information, but they’ll use it to cut off contact between you and your loan servicer and even steal your identity.
- Be wary of calls, emails or any other claims promising debt relief or loan forgiveness. Scammers have gotten exceptionally good at impersonating legitimate organizations, like the Department of Education, using real-looking names and logos. Just remember, special repayment plans don’t exist.
- Don’t click on any links you receive in suspicious texts or emails claiming to be about student loan repayment. When in doubt, call or email the organization using their direct contact information.
If you see an offer to forgive your student loan repayments, take a minute to step back and log in to your student loan account to view your actual options. Do you have friends or family members with student loans, too? Tell them these tips, and together, we can all steer clear of fraudsters.
If you think you’ve been a victim of a student loan repayment scam, or if you’ve given out your username, password, PIN or account info, please reach out to your financial institution right away. Summit members can reach us at 800-236-5560.
Source:
FTC.gov
