2023-08-21 03:19:14
The email comes from a hotmail email account, without any trace to prove that it is from the Student Loan Debt Department (which is where the sender claims to work) and reads like this:
We tried to contact you at home and got no response. Her student loans have been marked as eligible for forgiveness under the new 2023 guidelines.”
The message mentions an assigned case number and leaves a phone number that can be contacted, stressing that “your file will remain open in my system for just one more day” and that the relief can “apply immediately.”
The email, which at first glance seems real, is suspicious —assuming that, in this case, it reaches someone who has never applied for a student loan in the United States— and meets several warning signs that the Government has warned to notice in cases of fraud and scams:
It is an email, letter, phone call that has not been requested and contains personal information that could make you believe it is real. It promises forgiveness or cancellation of the debt, exerting pressure: “we can apply this immediately” or “your file will remain open in my system for just one more day.” It uses terms like “federal,” “national,” or, in the case of the quoted email, mentions “Department of Student Loan Debt.” Although it sounds official, a quick search on the internet is enough to find that they are offices or agencies that do not exist. Demand advance payments or ask for financial information. Write from accounts that do not end in .gov or there are typos.
“Communications using this type of aggressive advertising to attract borrowers do NOT come from the US Department of Education or its partners,” the authorities say.
“Scammers have stolen millions of dollars from student loan borrowers,” says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) which notes that some students “have lost hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars” in fraud that “often targets applicants in distress or people seeking help managing their loans.”
[Así puede aplicar al plan ‘SAVE’ el nuevo programa de la Administración Biden para condonar la deuda estudiantil]
The CFPB is emphatic in noting that “You should never give out personal information over the phone or internet”, much less when you have not contacted any agency. If you want to consolidate your debt or change payment plans, guide, you must do it in the official sites of the Government that end with .gov.
30% of adults in the United States claimed to have taken out at least one loan to pay for their education, according to the Federal Reserve. The collective debt is 1,770 million dollars in student loans, whether federal or private, it details.
After the Supreme Court ruling against the plan to cancel student debt proposed by the President’s Administration, Joe Biden, a series of alternatives have been announced for those who have not yet been able to pay their university debts.
[El Gobierno lanza un sitio web para su nuevo plan de reembolso de préstamos estudiantiles]
At the end of July, for example, the Government explained how it could be applied to the plan ‘SAVE’ (Saving on a Valuable Education) that required users to register directly on the website of the Education deparment in an application that takes a couple of minutes.
The Government usually publishes a guide and instructions on its official sites and people who have doubts about the veracity of a request, or fear that they may be victims of fraud, can contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center.
The Department of Education asks users to question themselves: “What are you offering me? Does it sound too good to be true?”
Some sites promise help filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, but the Department of Education warns of scams.MediaNews Group/St. Paul Pioneer/MediaNews Group via Getty Images
In the case of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSAwarns that some websites promise help to fill out the form in exchange for payment, but that “they are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Education”, and urges the population not to fall into the trap, taking into account that it can get free guidance here.
If scammers mention your debt balance or other personal information, it doesn’t mean it’s a legitimate communication, according to the CFBP. You also shouldn’t give out your Federal Student Aid or FSA information because if someone gets it, “they could make changes to your account without your permission.”
Scams can be reported and if you fell for a scam, the Department of Education offers a step-by-step to file a report and retrieve your data.
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