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Having trouble paying your student loan debt? You might get an offer that says you can reduce your monthly payment, or even reduce your overall debt. The offer might look like it comes from the government…and they might tell you that, first, you have to pay a fee. But it’s illegal for a company to ask you to pay a fee up front before they get you the promised relief. And it’s illegal for them to pretend to be from the government.

Because of the pandemic, people with federal student loans have some protections through the pause. Visit the U.S. Department of Education to learn more. People with student loans can also take steps to handle their student loan debt. Start by learning to spot the scams:

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Then, read more about managing your debt.

Have you spotted a scam? Report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. And be sure to keep up to date on what the FTC is doing by signing up to get Consumer Alerts.

Updated November 23, 2022 to reflect the extension of the student loan payment pause. Visit the U.S. Department of Education to learn more.

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Student Loan and Education Scams

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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.

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Lola B
August 09, 2021
I got this message from ATL, Ga #470-650-8166. “Hey this is Mark calling again agent ID 3077 I'm not sure if you got the correspondence in the mail but your forgiveness application for your student loans was approved give me a call back as soon as you get this message my direct line is 727-295-4557 again 727-295-4557 your forgiveness application was approved meeting your student loans are eligible for partial or total forgiveness now with everything going on it's a lot harder to pay back these loans the Department of education knows this so go ahead and give me a call back again that's 727-295-4557 thank you…” How do we stop these fault calls
Art
August 20, 2021

In reply to by Lola B

I got the same call just now from Mark. Glad I listened to my gut and researched this. I do have student loans but never applied for forgiveness yet.
Heather
August 12, 2021
The number 224- 217-3276 called and left this message.. “Hi this is Mark calling again agent ID's 3077 I'm not sure if you got the correspondence in the mail but your forgiveness application for your student loans was approved give me a call back as soon as you get this message my direct line is 727-295-4557 again 727-295-4557 your forgiveness application was approved meeting your student loans are eligible for partial or total forgiveness now with everything going on it's a lot harder to pay back these loans the Department of education knows this so go ahead and give me a call back again that's 727-295-4557 thanks…”
Vickie
August 12, 2021
I received a voicemail from this number stating that my student loan forgiveness application has been approved. I've never applied for forgiveness and have been making payments through the pandemic. DEFINITELY S SCAM, do NOT them you information
gmm
August 13, 2021
no phone call--just voice message in mailbox!
Don't
August 13, 2021
855 533 7550. Scam number to reply to. But number that actually called shows up as private so that's unknown.
Got a scam cal…
August 19, 2021
He was calling from Texas, (972)955-1921. His voicemail says "This is Mark calling again, agent ID 3077. I'm not sure if you got the correspondence in the mail but your student loan was approved. . Give me a call back as soon as you get this message. My direct line is 727-295-4557"
Tired of Scammers
August 24, 2021

In reply to by Got a scam cal…

Same one I got today but the number that came up was 470-650-8238. The call back number was the same.
Midwest Girl
August 19, 2021
Have received two calls in the last week for Student Loan Forgiveness and I do not have any loans! Haven't for a long time. The calls have come from the following numbers - 1-217-375-6053 and 1-615-576-3635 both asking me to call back at the following numbers 1-800-394- 7148 and 1-800-394-7029. Don't give Bailey or Austin a call back and avoid the scam.
Anonymous
August 20, 2021
Scam — I just received this voicemail without a call coming through. I have not made any attempts to receive any sort of loan forgiveness.
SickOfScams
August 23, 2021
Why is it that the government seems to do nothing about all these fraudulent phone calls and text messages? The fortunes spent on the do not call registry and the belief that we were at least safe with cell phones obviously shows that the system has failed. Why is it so complicated for a government to track down these crooks?
Leilani
August 23, 2021
Recieved a call from a just 727 295 4557 ID SGENT NUMBER....SAID MY LOANS ARE FORGIVEN OR PARTIALLY FORGIVEN...HOW STUPID DO THESE PPL THINK WE ARE.... SOMETHING NEEFS TO BE DONE BOUT THIS NUMBER APPARENTLY IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO GOT THE SAME CALL.
Janell
August 24, 2021
Same exact call. Clearly this man doesn’t know most people smart enough can do a quick Google search. I wish Mark “agent ID 3077” would stop calling me. Call was received and a voicemail was left on 08/24
Robin W
August 24, 2021
I just received a call from 224-319-7932 from someone names Mark Agent ID 3077 who said my student loans were approved for forgiveness and to call him back at 727-295-4557...He never said who the message was for...but did make it seem like he works for the Department of Education...SCAM
Marie
August 25, 2021
4/25/2021 Received voicemail from Agent ID 3077(MARK) in reference to Student Loan Relief. Have been approved for "FORGIVENESS". I,too,have never taken out a student loan. Mark's direct number is: (727) 295-4557 supposedly. BLOCKED NUMBER.
Celesta
August 30, 2021
I received the same call. On my caller ID, the phone number 470-650-8146 shows up and then Mark agent ID 3077 proceeds to tell me about an application that I never filed can help with forgiving my student loan debt and to call him back at 727-295-4557. My phone is setup to block his calls so it just always goes straight to voicemail. SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jwass101
August 31, 2021
i received the same call and Mark left the message. yes they asked for the payment but they added into the amount of your first payment.
Kimberl
August 31, 2021
Have received the same call from “Mark 3077 at 727-295-4557” stating the same. I have blocked the caller
Anon19
September 06, 2021
Marc just called me too what a scam 7272954557. Sounds convincing with the agent number
ScottB
September 06, 2021
I just received a DIRECT Voicemail from"Mark, agent id 3077." Referring me to call 727-295-4557 about Student loan forgiveness. This was NOT an actual phone call, so I'm not even trusting the supposed # that it came from, which isn't the referenced #.
Munmundas63
September 07, 2021
Yes I have received this call and multiple messages from this Mark 727-295-4557 asking me to call him for loan forgiveness
itsme.again.
September 16, 2021
Agent Mark just called me from 727-295-4557, informing me of student loan forgiveness
idkwhattouseDo…
September 17, 2021
Hey this is mark calling again agent ID 3077 i’m not sure if you got the correspondence in the mail but your forgiveness application for your student loans was approved. Give me a call back as soon as you get this message my direct line is 7272954557 I get a call daily is this a scam? Cause I recently did get put on disability and I did look into getting discharge and I did apply but they said I haven’t been on disability long enough so I had to have a physician statement and that was just really difficult to get. And I never actually did turn in the physician form. And then recently started getting these calls right after that.
Jennie
September 22, 2021
Have gotten this call several times. Same message, same "agent ID", same call back number but different originations. Why is this still happening?
HC
September 28, 2021
Just got this voicemail today. I don’t have student loans but the voice mail sounded fishy. She doesn’t say what company she’s calling for “Hi it's Katie Mendez if you can give me a call back when you receive this at 855-737-0014 I'm not sure if you received a notice that went out recently regarding your student loans um but in any case we don't want anyone's prequalified status to change especially qualifications for forgiveness or possible discharge so if you had a few minutes I just wanted to go over the details with you um thanks so much and have a great day…”
Patti
October 12, 2021
I just received on from phone # 608-351-4339. Voicemail was from Sienna Foster who said that my "application" for student loan debt forgiveness was incomplete. I never filled out any application for loan forgiveness. She went on and asked me to call back at 800-425-5813.
JJ
October 12, 2021
Brooke Allen’s calling from Student Services +1 (470) 650-8123
Myrtle Snow
October 22, 2021
Obvious scam, we just got one of these calls this morning. Person left voicemail and said they were "Agent 3077" and to call them immediately at 727-295-4557. Of course we Googled the number instead, and ended up here. Stupid, annoying scammers.
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