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A lot of us have student loans – and some of us have trouble paying them every month. Some companies claim to resolve that issue by saying they can help you pay them down quicker, cheaper or get them forgiven altogether. Be cautious – some of these companies are running scams.

Here are some tips to avoid student loan repayment scams:

  • Never pay an upfront fee. It’s illegal for companies to charge you in advance before helping you to reduce or get rid of your student loan debt.  Companies that make you pay upfront might give you no help and not give your money back.  
  • Only scammers promise fast loan forgiveness. Before they know your situation, scammers might say they can quickly get rid of your loans through a loan forgiveness program. But they can’t.
  • A Department of Education seal doesn’t mean it’s legit. Scammers use official-looking names and logos and say they have special access to certain federal programs. They don’t.
  • Don’t share your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID with anyone. Scammers could use it to take control of your personal financial aid information on U.S. Department of Education websites.

Last month, the FTC announced a lawsuit against American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC), Financial Education Benefits Center (FEBC), AmeriTech Financial, and Brandon Demond Frere as part of its crackdown against unlawful student loan debt relief practices, Operation Game of Loans. The FTC alleges that the companies charged illegal, upfront fees and failed to deliver on their promises to enroll people into a government program that they claimed would permanently lower monthly loan payments or result in total loan forgiveness.

The FTC also alleges the companies charged a monthly fee for the life of the loan (typically 10-25 years) and represented that the fee would go towards the student loan balance. But it didn’t.

You don’t have to pay for help with your student loans. There’s nothing a company can do for you that you cannot do yourself for free: federal borrowers can start with StudentAid.gov/repay; private borrowers can start by talking with their loan servicer.

Spotted a scam? Let us know about it.

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

CONCERNED CITIZEN
March 08, 2018
Companies are ROBO calling people asking for passwords SSNs and pretending to be a representative of the federal Government. The people have foreign accents. The FBI needs to investigate as some information for Student loans had to be compromised somewhere. Please stop the selling and sharing of information as it is putting the entire country at risk.
Anonymous
April 10, 2018

In reply to by CONCERNED CITIZEN

This is a cold dialing scam.. received a similar one today and offered to reduce my loan... Problem is I don't have a loan
Kathie
April 18, 2018

In reply to by Anonymous

Have received at least 3 of these "student loan relief" calls w/n past weeks, from "Amy." Problem is, and no I don't answer but they leave a voicemail, that I'm 68, never taken a student loan and they're barking up the wrong tree. A nuisance. Blocked the phone number, but my phone still rings.
GailR
August 28, 2018

In reply to by Kathie

Receive multiple calls to help with student loans. I also do not have student loans and I am 66 so I am not planing on starting any student loans now. Maybe some classes but no loans. I answered the call and talked with a live person. She asked about student loans help and I said I do not have any loans and why would you be calling me I am 66 years old? I was then transferred without another word to insurance sales.
Nate
September 25, 2018

In reply to by GailR

I have gotten about 30 calls over the last two weeks, they are number spoofed so you cant return call. Finally answer to get an Indian or Pakistani lady answer. When I ask what company she says "A federal loan forgiveness program". I clarify "what company" and she replies "oh shut up" and hangs up lol. Still getting about 6 per day.
me
April 17, 2018

In reply to by CONCERNED CITIZEN

I agree with you. Every time I renew my paperwork for the coming year on school loans I start getting credit card offers from all sorts of companies. The thing is my last name has changed since school, the credit card offers come in the last name that i had while i was in school. No way that is a coincidence. I never at any other time of the year get any info sent to me in that name. So it must be the companies/banks holding the loans selling information. I think it should be protected because of the sensitive info they hold. It makes me nervous.
Angryashell33
May 30, 2019

In reply to by CONCERNED CITIZEN

I am a 72 year old retired woman. Almost on a daily basis I get calls regarding “my student loan.” I have never had a student loan. I know these are scammers because the calls come from many different area codes. Please advise how do I get them to stop calling me.
Kelly
March 08, 2018
Im so worry now I had a company contact me regarding an loan forgiveness program which required me to pay up front fees of 200 an month for 4 months,they stated after that my monthly payment would be only 30m... the company is called Premiere Student Loans..Is this company a scam too?
FTC Staff
March 08, 2018

In reply to by Kelly

It is illegal for a company to charge you before it helps you reduce or get rid of your student loan debt.  A company that makes you pay upfront might give not help you and might not give you a refund.

If your loan is from the federal government, you can go to StudentAid.gov/repay for information. If your loan is from a bank or other private lender, talk to your  loan servicer about repayment. You can report the company to your state Attorney General.

Mimi
June 15, 2018

In reply to by FTC Staff

I get these calls plus all day long.how can I stop them .I block them and they are still calling.they have so many numbers they call from.I am go I,g crazy
JjDon't use yo…
June 25, 2018

In reply to by Mimi

Same here. "Heather" calls. I am going crazy too.
Concerned IN c…
September 17, 2019

In reply to by FTC Staff

Please explain HOW we can stop these daily scammer calls. Blocking the number seems mundane when they spoof phone numbers and call you 15 TIMES A DAY! I've requested everytime to have my number taken off their list only to be hung up on and called back within an hour. I can only block so many numbers and I SHOULD NOT have to even consider changing my number. FTC please research this issue and work to solve the issue for your consumers.
Spencer
March 09, 2018

In reply to by Kelly

Hi Kelly, I did the same thing last month with the same company, I'm not sure if or how I can follow your post. I hope it was legit...a little nervous now
Hilary
April 11, 2019

In reply to by Kelly

Kelly, definitely sounds like a scam to me. You should never pay for anything to do with your federal student loans except your monthly payment, which can always be lowered if needed based on income.
Joanne F
March 08, 2018

I have been receiving calls concerning my student loan which I do not have. I have started writing down the number each time I receive a call. On 2-26-18 and 3-2-18 the number was 540 856-3924. I do not talk to these people, I just hang up.

msoregon
March 08, 2018
I received a call claiming that they were from the IRS, the phone number was listed on my caller id, I called the IRS to let them know and also gave them the phone number, I don't fall for scams, I don't even trust the real people. Its a shame that you can't trust people and I don't see how they can sleep at night, making people scared.
Cicero
March 08, 2018
My friend got scammed few years ago for student relief help program for $300, back then we didn't know what to do, its probably too late to do anything about it even though she has all documents, it left her in a deep depression, and now the Gov. has a company to help her, but they look at your gross income instead of net, then calculate payments upon gross income, which they don't think about your rent, utilities, car payments & insurance. Its sad because the interest rate is so high she will never pay it off. So sad the way the Government affiliates companies treat hard working Americans.
Colonel Buddy
March 08, 2018
Thank you for your flow of Cyber Security info. If we could all team together to report every incident to FTC we would stem the heavy losses the public is experiencing. Then the hacjkers and scammers would have to find oter means of income. Keep it up FTC.
cbon
March 08, 2018
I am 80+ years young and keep receiving these calls to help me with my student loans. I just tell them to "send me the money" and they hang up.
Dran
March 10, 2018
Got a phone call from student Loan care and equitable acceptance any body got info on these companies? Or anybody dealt with them with student loans?
Sha Hay
August 04, 2018

In reply to by Dran

This is a scam. I fell for it . im desperately seeking help to get it off my credit report. Please dont sign up with anything from them
marina52
March 12, 2018
thanks i have understand
suny18
March 12, 2018
I'M getting student loans called and several others just after I gave my number in Victoria Secret. Big mistake. I recommend, never ever give your number to any store.
Linda Lou
March 13, 2018
Fed Loan Servicing is a scammer!
Ladyblue
July 18, 2019

In reply to by Linda Lou

Does anyone know about documents done right or they scammers also need to know asap!!
Bloopert
March 16, 2018
Watch out for a company called Federal Assistance...their website is "fedassist.us" and according to a "supervisor" they used to be called Student Advocates LLC.
Pride
May 16, 2018

In reply to by Bloopert

I’ve been getting calls from Fed Assist for several months. Finally called back to the number left on my voicemail today. They claim I can pay a small payment for the next 10 years, reduce my interest rates, and then all my loans will be forgiven since I am a “public servant”. They asked my FSA login (didn’t give it) and I asked for their website. Glad I have learned to check these things out from past experiences.
amandamae
August 17, 2018

In reply to by Pride

I fell for the FedAssist scam and I feel pretty stupid now to have not noticed the very obvious warning signs. Not only did I lose $447, they consolidated my loans against my best interest and now I live in fear thinking they will continue to rip me off since they have personal information.
Abbyroad713
March 19, 2018
Has anyone dealt with Square One Solutions? I just signed with them & now I’m concerned.
ss
April 10, 2018

In reply to by Abbyroad713

I read an article about that group, Square One Resolutions is a scam.
Duked!
July 31, 2019

In reply to by ss

Square One Resolutions will take your money for almost 2 years, which is when their contract term ends if you don't stop it before then. I thought they were helping me, but come to find out, the waited til the month before my contract ended and then reached out to my student loan people to try to negotiate a deal. When they did that, the student loan people reset the debt and reported to the credit bureaus all over again like it was a new debt...which further decreased my credit score! What a mess. Now I am having to try to fix the problem on my own. the student loan people are Discover Student Loan. They changed the terms of my fixed rate 20-year loan to a variable rate 30-year loan and did not even send me any correspondence regarding the change. So, like an idiot, I paid and paid and paid, until one day I called Discover to find out how much the payoff amount would be. When I started asking questions, nobody had an answer at the company. Now I am having to go through a friend of mine who has helped me more in 3 months, than the Square One Resolutions people did in the time I was paying them!! Get out while you can.
FTC Staff
November 22, 2019

In reply to by Duked!

You can report that to the FTC at www.FTC.gov/Compliants. The information you give goes into a secure database that the FTC and other law enforcement agencies use for investigations.

Rada
April 03, 2018
How do I stop the calls from the Student Aid scammers? Help.
Mcarter
April 07, 2018

In reply to by Rada

I have the same problem. I don't know what country they are from bit they call me 10 times a day. I block them and they call from all different types of numbers from all over the US. It's frustrating.
Blap Blap Quampff
April 09, 2018
They called me with a local number but the number is unreachable to call back. The number was 812-470-3146
rnkstuloanscam
April 10, 2018
I believe I have been scammed by Student Loans of America. What can I do to stop them from taking money from our bank account. We are both in our 70's and not wealthy. Please help us
Skmechanicswife
April 12, 2018
I have recieved many calls from local numbers claiming that I have 48 hours to contact them. I answered it once,but never gave my information. Asked to speak with someone else who I can understand. They hung up. How can I get them to stop calling? Multiple numbers. 218 area code
brookster
April 13, 2018
I seriously can't take it anymore i am getting killed with these calls. I just put my number on the "do not call list" so hopefully that will help a bit?
fritzi
April 24, 2018
received phone call from friend per caller i.d. It was the student loan scam ... I'm 80 years old and NEVER had a student loan. I called the friend and she had not known about this. Who do I report this to as she is not on the internet?
rg
April 24, 2018
Like the rest of you, I am getting fed up with all of the scam calls - especially the student loans and the phony IRS. In fact, I HAVE NEVER HAD A STUDENT LOAN (I do have an MBA) and am 75 years old. I am reporting the number to the FTC, but it probably won't be active by the time they get it and take action.
Momma
April 29, 2018
I know I am suppose to hang up. But I have found that when mircosoft calls to renew my license, I tell them they called last week and I paid them $500. They need to locate my file. That keeps them busy for 5 or 10 minutes. Silly I know, but I have all day to play games with telemarketers. I have found that after a few minutes they realize that I *Candace Cane* have been yanking their chain. But, they wasted several precious minutes dealing with me. That means they couldn't harass or fraud someone else.
Ancient Female
December 11, 2018

In reply to by Momma

That's a great reaction, and a lot nicer than mine! Good work.
fed up
April 30, 2018
I have received calls also. Its ridiculous. when you say you don't want it they get made. its ashamed that our information is constantly being used and sold. Be careful. don't give any information-let them give it to you and when you say no thank you just hang up. because they keep pushing and pushing
Ginok...Don't …
May 09, 2018
What about the companies that claim we can make money answering survays
TiredCitizen
May 12, 2018
So I got a text from 76965 saying I needed to contact my counselor at 866.437.4579 for student loan forgiveness and that my eligibility expired tomorrow. Watch out guys this wreaks of scammers. I didn't reply even STOP to opt out because then they know someone got their message and it's active number.
Student Repaym…
May 24, 2018

I received a call from Bradley Conroy from Student Repayment Solutions. He asked for my FAFSA logon information and reset my password to login. He explained to me I would have a fee for their services (he spoke fast). I intercepted him and told him if he were to ask for anymore personal information like my SS number and bank account information I am going to need to research his company first. I immediately changed my FAFSA password.

Bradley Conroy Account Manager Student Repayment Solutions Direct: 714-831-1374 Email: bradley@ studentrepaymentsolutions. com www. studentrepaymentsolutions. com

FTC Staff
March 02, 2020

In reply to by Student Repaym…

You can report this to the FTC at FTC.gov/Complaint. The information you give will go into a secure database that law enforcement uses for investigations. The comments you put here on the blog don’t go into the law enforcement database.

Chuck2000
August 29, 2019

In reply to by Student Repaym…

I got the exact same call. Change my password right away as well. Did everything end up being ok!? Freaking out here haha
This is me
May 29, 2018
I just received a text from 602.773.1951 asking me to call regarding a Forgiveness program that will cover my previous education cost. There was also a link to contact them by, which of course I'm not clicking on. Scary thing is that they used my first name in the text. I've never had a student loan.... SCAM! Contacting the FTC
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