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  Geebo 9:00 am on December 20, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: debt forgiveness, Scams ( 1,368 ), student debt ( 15 ), student loans ( 15 )   

  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.

   

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  Geebo 9:00 am on March 10, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: debt forgiveness, Scams ( 1,368 ), student debt ( 15 ), student loans ( 15 )   

  New student loan forgiveness scam preys on confusion 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Over the past several years, college tuition costs continue to rise while salaries for jobs that many graduates would fill have remained largely stagnant. This has resulted in one of the largest debt crises our country has faced. We may now have a generation of college graduates who may work their whole lives just to pay back their student loans. Not only has this made student loan debt forgiveness a contentious political issue, but it’s also allowed scammers to take advantage of the confusion and desperation of those who find themselves dealing with this debt.

  Over the past year, the government has approved a couple of economic impact payments due to the record unemployment. Even a third one was recently approved. Those payments came with a lot of confusion about how to get one and scammers swooped down on that confusion like a pack of hungry buzzards. Now, scammers are making up government relief programs to take advantage of those swimming in student loan debt.

  Scammers are now contacting their victims claiming they represent a student loan debt forgiveness program. Those programs exist, but they are difficult to find and even more difficult to get approved. These scammers are said to be using terms like ‘Biden student loan forgiveness’ and ‘stimulus forgiveness’. So far, there has been no student loan debt forgiveness legislation that has been approved by either Congress or President Biden. However, with the talk of an additional COVID-19 economic impact payment, someone could be tricked into believing that debt forgiveness is part of that package.

  As always, the scammers are looking for one of two things. Scammers will either ask you for some kind of ‘processing fee’, your personal information, or both. Anyone that contacts you out of the blue offering a too good to be true way of getting out of debt is not your friend. These calls should be ignored and reported to your local police and the Federal Trade Commission.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on June 1, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: debt forgiveness, Scams ( 1,368 ), student debt ( 15 ), student loans ( 15 )   

  New scam promises student loan forgiveness 

  

  With the cost of college tuition always rising and salaries largely remaining stagnant, we have a generation of college graduates who may work their whole lives just to pay back their student loans. People of that generation have also been found to be just as vulnerable to scams as their grandparents’ generation. Far be it for scammers to not try to take advantage of those two facts.

  According to Wikipedia, Navient is a U.S. corporation whose operations include servicing and collecting student loans. They recently settled a lawsuit over student debt forgiveness, however, the settlement doesn’t provide relief for those who owe money to Navient. But the scammers are hoping to cash in on the confusion over the lawsuit settlement.

  Scammers are posing as Navient employees and calling people telling them that due to the settlement the debtors are eligible to have their student debt partially or fully forgiven. There’s only one thing the debtors need to do. You just need to give your Social Security number and pay a fee to transfer the debt to the Department of Education.

  Not just any fee mind you, the scammers are asking for monthly payments from your debit or credit card to maintain the loan forgiveness. So, while the scammers are taking monthly payments from you, nothing is happening with your student debt. So not only are you paying these scammers monthly payments but you’ll probably be ignoring your student loan payments leading to a series of financial nightmares that no one should have to go through.

  However, there is hope. The settlement made it that if your loan payments are being collected by Navient, you can contact them to see if you are, in fact, eligible for loan forgiveness.

  Companies like Navient aren’t going to just call you out of the blue to possibly lose the profits they’ve already gained. Unsolicited phone calls that promise you a way out of debt are almost always too good to be true.