No, President Biden Is Not Calling You About Student Loan Forgiveness.
Getting a personal phone call from the commander in chief’s office would be impressive, and even better when it comes to forgiving your student loans. Unfortunately, President Joe Biden does not call you or anyone else to forgive student loans over the phone. This is a fraud.
Scammers are taking advantage of the student loan forgiveness confusion
There has been a lot of confusion around when student loans will be forgiven, who is eligible, and how to apply for forgiveness, so it’s probably not surprising that scammers are hoping to take advantage. For one person, Debbie Carter, an artist who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with a $60,000 federal loan, the surprise came minutes after Biden’s announcement, according to The New York Times . Carter received a call from the Florida Student Loan Center saying they had records of her right to forgive students and asked her to call them back.
How to recognize scam student loan forgiveness calls
The scammers usually come with a sense of urgency, claiming that your right is expiring or that you need to pay an advance quickly to qualify for debt forgiveness.
“You could be contacted by a company saying they can help you get loan repayment, forgiveness, cancellation or debt relief for a fee,” warns a weekly email from the Department of Education. “You will never have to pay for assistance under your federal student aid.”
Other red flags include a request to redirect loan payments or a request for personal information such as a Social Security number, a Federal Student Aid identification number, or any financial information by phone, text, or email.
What to do if you get a call about your student loans
A good rule of thumb when dealing with potential scammers is to check if their company name appears on the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker . If it is an illegitimate organization, you will find complaints and negative comments from its victims. But new scams don’t get reported as quickly, so keep in mind that just because a name doesn’t come up doesn’t make them safe. If you are considering student loan forgiveness, you should also considersubscribing to weekly emails from the US Department of Education for the latest information on forgiveness and potential scams. You may also (and should) report fraudulent calls, texts, and emails to the BBB Fraud Tracker or the Federal Trade Commission website .