Earlier this week, the Biden administration’s Department of Education officially launched its student debt forgiveness platform, allowing millions of borrowers to apply for student loan cancelation following a weekend of beta testing to ensure a smooth process. So far, everything seems to be working smoothly, and it’s estimated that more than eight million borrowers filled out applications in the first few days of the applications soft-launch. However, the FBI is warning those who have yet to apply to be wary of scams. Here’s what you need to know.
According to Gizmodo, there’s a growing concern about scammers looking to take advantage of people trying to apply for the student debt forgiveness program. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and President Biden have spoken out, warning borrowers to be vigilant about what information they share and with who.
Student loan forgiveness scams are targeting people in sneaky ways:
The FBI notes that cybercriminals may attempt to contact people applying for the loan to convince them to provide personal or financial information that could be used for scams or identity theft later.
The agency also noted that some scammers are asking people for “processing fees,” which the FBI notes is not a practice of the agency, federal government, or its loan partners.
According to CNET, people need to be aware that scams don’t only come as emails. Borrowers must be suspicious of shady social media posts, QR codes, text messages, and…
