MADISON (WKOW) — Almost as soon as the Biden Administration announced its plans to cancel some student loan debt, scammers were taking advantage of consumers looking for debt relief.
Tiffany Schultz with the Better Business Bureau said the BBB has already received dozens of reports of scams related to student loans. She said scammers are also using any means they can to con people, including phone calls, social media, and email.
“They tell you that you qualify for the new student loan forgiveness program, and they want you to fill out an online application or maybe they want you to pay an upfront fee to get the government money,” she said.
She said you do not have to pay money to get money from the program. Also, if someone is reaching out to you unsolicited, it’s a scam.
Scammers may also threaten that if you don’t take advantage of the opportunity now, you may lose out on the money. But Schultz said you can take some time to do your research.
“Find out the organization that the person is calling from and call that organization directly to see if that is a legitimate phone call,” she said. “There’s a lot of information that you’re going to be able to find on two government websites: ed.gov and studentaid.gov. They’re going to tell you how you can take advantage of this program.”
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