Department of Education: Protect yourself against scams as you prepare for student debt relief

The Department of Education is warning student loan borrowers to be aware of scammers trying to take advantage of individuals looking to get relief.

Having the most up-to-date and accurate information is your best protection against scammers, according to an email from the U.S. Department of Education.

If you signed up for alerts, you will hear directly from the Department of Education or Federal Student Aid when the application for debt relief is available.

If you qualify for debt relief without needing to fill out an application, you will also hear from the Department of Education or FSA directly.

Do’s and don’ts to protect yourself against scams

• DON’T pay anyone who contacts you with promises of debt relief or loan forgiveness. You will not need to pay anyone to obtain debt relief. The application will be free and easy to use.
• DON’T reveal your FSA ID or account information or password to anyone who contacts you. The Department of Education and your federal student loan servicer will never call or email you asking for this information.
• DON’T ever give personal or financial information to an unfamiliar caller. When in doubt, hang up and call your student loan servicer directly.
• DON’T refinance your federal student loans unless you know the risks. If you refinance federal student loans eligible for debt relief into a private loan, you will lose out on important benefits like one-time debt relief and flexible payment plans for federal loans.
• DO create an FSA ID at StudentAid.gov. You will not need it for the debt relief application but having an FSA ID can allow you to easily access accurate information on your loan and make sure FSA can contact you directly, helping you equip yourself against scammers trying to contact you.
• DO make sure your loan servicer has your most current contact information.
• DO share messages with your networks and encourage others to sign up at www.ed.gov/subscriptions to be notified when the Student Loan Debt Relief application becomes available.
• DO report scammers to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting reportfraud.ftc.gov.

To read more about the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to protect borrowers against scams, click here.