LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — If you’ve got student loans, chances are you’ve probably been waiting for any and all information on the Biden Administration's debt relief plan.
Before you get too caught up in the rush of applying for that relief, there are new warnings of online scams— and the number of them is only expected to go up.
“It’s a new opportunity for scammers to take advantage of it,” said President and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Arkansas, Janet Robb.
Janet Robb knows what a scam looks like better than most.
“Scammers like to prey on the uneducated,” Robb explained. “Those that are in need, and those that are under emotional distress or financial distress.”
Day in and day out, she has worked to warn Arkansans of scams that could cheat them out of their money and private information.
Unfortunately, new scams targeted toward those looking for student loan debt relief are at the top of her radar right now.
“We’re hearing from people that they have received emails claiming to be from the government or from a student loan authority, asking for personal financial information,” she added.
It’s not just the Better Business Bureau that’s gotten reports of those scams— other Arkansas agencies have heard the same, including the Arkansas Division of Higher Education.
“Basically trying to get personal identification, personal information from student lenders,” said Alisha Lewis with the ADHE
This has become such an issue that even the United States Department of Education has gotten involved.
“I’m not surprised that they’re jumping on this pretty quickly,” Lewis said. “They want to protect student borrowers.”
So how do you protect yourself? The U.S. Department of Education has put out some pretty simple do’s and don’ts as we get closer to that relief becoming available.
They said never to pay anyone for student loan debt relief— that’s never needed.
It's also important not to share your FSA ID, and don’t refinance if you don’t know everything about it.
You should, however, make sure you have a FAFSA ID with studentaid.gov and see if your student loan provider has your most up-to-date contact information.
And most importantly, they urged people to report any and all scammers.
“So what we’re trying to do, as well as national organizations, is get the information out to prevent it from happening in the first place,” Robb said. “Don’t be a good victim, let us help you make those good decisions.”