Greg's Corner

Scammers turn their eyes to student debt

By Greg Collier

Student debt has become a very contentious issue in this country. Due to the rising costs of college tuition and wages remaining stagnant, a generation of college graduates may work for the rest of their lives just to try to pay back their student loans. It has become such a problem that for many, a temporary student loan payment suspension was placed by the government during the pandemic. This gave relief to many who were struggling to make ends meet. However, payments are set to resume on January 31st, 2022. Scammers are probably already gearing up to try to take advantage of those who are having trouble making their payments.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning about scammers looking to capitalize on the student debt crisis by offering phony debt forgiveness plans. The FTC says that scammers will text, email, and call you, and message you on social media with false promises of debt forgiveness. Tips given by the FTC include, never paying an upfront fee, as it’s illegal for legitimate services to do so, don’t give anyone your Federal Student Aid ID or any other personal information, and don’t fall for any communication that appears to have an official seal as those can be faked.

You should always be wary of any service that contacts you out of the blue and offers you the moon, and not just for student debt forgiveness. Legitimate services and agencies that offer services like credit repair, debt forgiveness, or tax assistance, will not try to solicit you. Unsolicited communication that promises you a way out of debt are almost always too good to be true.

There are certain reasons where you can have your student loan forgiven; however, not everyone meets these requirements. You can find out more on from the Federal Government’s Student Aid website.