EL PASO, TX—The FBI El Paso Field Office is warning the public of the potential for criminal actors to defraud individuals seeking federal student loan forgiveness. Scammers will aim to solicit personally identifiable information, financial information, or payment from potential victims using fraudulent websites, emails, texts, or phone scams.
“Scammers will constantly use their effective scam scenarios and tweak them to take advantage of a current situation affecting the community at large. The FBI typically sees this behavior when any new government aid program becomes available,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey. “The FBI is providing information to the public now to help people recognize the warning signs of potentially fraudulent activity related to the forgiveness of federal student loans. Don’t let a scammer trick you into revealing personally identifiable information or providing any type of payment. The U.S. government will not charge any type of processing fees or require any type of payment to have your federal student loans forgiven.”
Student Loan Forgiveness Program Background
On August 24, 2022, the Student Loan Debt Relief Plan was announced for individuals with incomes below $125,000, or joint filers with incomes below $250,000. Under the plan, the U.S. Department of Education will provide targeted student debt cancellation to borrowers with loans held by the U.S. Department of Education. The loan forgiveness will provide up to…
