Among the many things that student loan borrowers have to deal with during the life of their loans, one of the most frustrating ones is student loan forgiveness scams, where scammers are trying to use a person’s debt to trick them into providing sensitive information or otherwise compromising their finances.
These scams have become widespread, with numerous complaints reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attention from agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Dealing with lenders, loan servicers, and the intricacies of loan payments can be challenging enough. However, scams exacerbate the confusion by piggybacking on legitimate debt with deceitful programs, false promises, and unethical collection practices.
Four Warning Signs of Student Loan Forgiveness Scams
Legitimate student loan debt relief programs typically specify eligibility criteria. Beware of offers promising ‘quick student loan debt relief’ without any context or eligibility requirements – these are likely scams.
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Aggressive Language
Scammers often use urgent language like ‘act fast – call today’ or ‘provide information right now.’ Legitimate relief programs don’t pressure borrowers into immediate decisions. Real student loan debt relief doesn’t have this kind of timeline. Instead, borrowers usually have to seek out these programs themselves, and apply, and they often have to talk with their lender or loan servicer as they proceed. In fact, many legitimate offices urge borrowers to be in contact with their lender throughout the process.
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Payment Requests
Then there’s the ‘quid pro quo’ – another scamming type of student loan debt relief offer. Someone might ask you to pay money to get a student loan forgiven, or to put in a different status. Simply put, that’s not the way it works. Legitimate student loan relief programs don’t cost anything. They rarely involve any kind of solicitation, and they’re not offered through social media.
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Suspicious Contact Methods
In this modern world, student loan debt relief scams are a multi-channel enterprise – they can happen through any number of different media. Here are some of the common ways that scammers contact borrowers:
a) Email – you may get word of a supposed student loan debt relief program through an email or website. Look for telltale signs, like typo errors and vague names that could constitute dummy institutions or made-up offices.
b) Social media – as we said, legitimate opportunities are not likely to appear on your social media feed. But scams are, because social media platforms are so unregulated and become places where shady transactions are the norm.
c) Over the phone – you may get robocalls or even human beings saying they’re going to help you get rid of your student debt. All of the above warnings apply!
d) Snail mail – yes, student loan companies will also send direct mailers. Again, look for the name of the office or entity that’s offering student loan debt relief. If you don’t recognize it, Google it. You may find that it’s easy to identify a fraud this way.
e) Door-to-door – it’s relatively rare, but you might get door-to-door solicitation for student loan debt relief. This is almost never legitimate, so ask the hard questions to whoever is standing on your porch.
Legitimate Student Loan Debt Relief Programs
Amid the prevalence of scams, there are legitimate student loan relief programs available:
These plans cap monthly payments based on your income, offering significant relief for borrowers with lower incomes.
This program is reserved for people who are going into public service after gaining a degree. But that’s a lot of borrowers, in the millions. So we often include this program in talking about legitimate student loan debt relief opportunities.
For someone who wants to be a teacher, there may be an opportunity to get student loan debt relief as an educator. If that’s your wheelhouse, look into these possibilities proactively rather than just listening to a scam pitch.
You can also get student loan debt relief, typically speaking, if you are awarded total disability by the government. There may be a lengthy process to go through to get your loan into this status. We have more resources on this on the site.
Individuals in military service may be able to have their loans forgiven as well. There’s also an opportunity for some serving in AmeriCorps.
Conclusion
Those are some of the real opportunities to get student loans discharged. Knowing more about them helps you spot the scams – and being alert helps you to prevent getting taken advantage of, because scammers are playing on your debt history to trick you into some kind of social engineering trap.
For more, keep reading the blog, and know what your rights are under the law!
