Scammers preying on those with student debt
Oct. 8—Resuming student loan payments this month is hitting many borrowers hard, but the blow can be especially painful for those targeted by a scam.
Con artists are preying on millions of citizens who will be making their first payments since the pandemic. Scammers may try to target people by claiming they can help avoid repayments, lower payments or get loans forgiven — for a price.
Tim Conard, the CEO of TS Conard Technology Solutions, which specializes in cybersecurity, says student loan scams can start with phone calls but scammers are also shifting to the internet as well.
"There's a lot of debt out there that needs to be paid and that's what these scammers are wanting to see is a chunk of money," Conrad said. "That's why cybersecurity is absolutely necessary because 95% of all breaches to anybody starts with them clicking on something they shouldn't have."
The Federal Trade Commission is paying more than $3.3 million to consumers who were scammed by Arete Financial Group, a student debt relief operation that tricked people into making upfront payments to relieve them of payment obligations.
Experts say a few ways scams can be avoided are by making sure you don't give away personal information such as your Federal Student Aid login information and not trusting anyone who contacts you promising debt relief or loan forgiveness for a fee.
"If students are having trouble repaying their loans, let's say their payments are too high and they're looking at changing their payment plan, there is no cost to do that," said Jessica Hills, interim director of financial aid at Missouri Western State University. "If a company is trying to charge you some kind of fee to do something with your student loan, cut off contact with them and contact your servicer directly for assistance."
Other ways people can determine if an email or website is a scam is if it doesn't contain ".gov" or if there are typos and misspellings in the company's name, experts say.
The U.S. Department of Education said official student debt emails will only come from these senders:
noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov
While many are eager to pay off their student debt with the least amount of money, it's important to be patient and verify that you're dealing with a legitimate student loan servicer.
"Most people are not criminals, so they don't think like criminals and they tend to be very trusting," Conard said. "If something appears to be legitimate, they automatically assume it is and that's not the safest decision. Be cautious about who you're giving your money to."
If you have questions about your loan payments, reach out directly to your servicer. That information can be provided for free at www.studentaid.gov.
Jenna Wilson can be reached at jenna.wilson@newspressnow.com.
