Today I received a robocall from “The Department of Education” regarding my student loans. The recording said that the Department flagged me as being eligible for certain programs including student loan consolidation and student loan forgiveness. The recording instructed me to press 1 if I wanted to learn more and press 5 if I was not interested.
This particular call is one of many student loan scam calls making the rounds.
Red Flags: The Signs the “Department of Education” Didn’t Actually Call
Although the recording lasted only about 15 seconds, there were several red flags that indicated to me that this was a scam.
The Department of Education made the call
The Department of Education does not directly service student loans. Companies like Navient, Great Lakes, Nelnet, and MyFedLoan have massive government contracts to manage federal student loans. There is no reason for the Department of Education to make the call directly. Anyone pretending to be the Department of Education clearly has bad intentions.
They didn’t use my name
If someone (including a robot) is calling about your student loans, they should know your name. If they don’t even know your name, how can they have accurate information about your student loans?
Press 5 if you are not interested
This is a common trick with telemarketing scams. Even if you don’t fall for the scam, pressing a button confirms your phone number is active. Marketers and scammers sell lists of in-use phone numbers. Hitting any button to answer any question is a good way to end up on one of these lists.
Even though the recording sounded somewhat official and relevant to my student debt situation, it was definitely not legitimate. Don’t just assume that someone calling about your student loans is legitimate. Over 40 million Americans have student debt. Scammers know that, with a population of 300 million, at least 10% Americans called at random will have student loans.
Moving Past Scams and Getting Real Student Loan Help
If you are having problems with your student loans, don’t waste your time or money on someone who randomly calls you. You can resolve the vast majority of student loan issues by simply contacting your student loan servicer.
Even though the student loan servicers are often guilty of lousy performance, they remain the best and only way to enroll in many federal student loan programs. These programs, such as income-driven repayment and student loan forgiveness, are your right as a borrower. Accordingly, there is no reason to pay anyone to assist you. The real Department of Education has a list of the services that are provided for free for all student loan borrowers.
If you are suspicious about a call or a company, be sure to check out our tips on avoiding student loan scams. If you think you may have fallen for a scam, learn how to prevent scammers from causing further damage.
I have the money to repay my loans, but I can’t seem to find out where to do this. When I try to go NSLDS.gov I can’t log in because I don’t remember my username and I can’t recover it because my attached Email has been non existant for along time. I can not seem to be able to talk to anyone in person, even after spending HOURS on their automated phone directories only to have my call just drop. When I call the number that is connected with my loans off of my credit search I am connected with a home medic alert system. It is unbelievable how difficult it is to just find where to simply pay off these loans. Not restructure them, not consolidate them, just take my payment.
That sounds terribly frustrating.
Does the credit report list a loan servicer? If so, I’d call the loan servicer company listed on the credit report. You can google the servicer name to find contact info.
If that approach doesn’t work, I’d suggest contacting the Department of Edcuation.
Recently received a call from the Department of Education about discussing which school my kid studying she gave one id number asking me to submit in school . but i didn’t get any information from school regarding this
This girl keeps calling my grandma about her student loan this robot says “Hi this is Emily im calling about your student loans” in a really cheerful tone something thats abnormal, and does not sound like a real human at all. This thing is we knew it was a scam right away I wish I could listen more to the conversation but grandma keeps hanging up. The thing is we knew it was a scam because my grandma never took out a student loan. And this “Emily” keeps making new phone numbers because my grandma keeps blocking her this girl will not up.
Best tip is to get a real person on the line, never say the words “yes”, “ok” or anything along those lines and don’t confirm that you are who they say you are if they do for some reason know your name, and ask them lots of questions.
-What branch of government? (federal, state, county, district)
-What’s your name?
-What’s your physical location?
-What’s your position title?
-Where did you get this number?
-Why are you calling?
-Who is your direct supervisor?
Ask them questions until it freaks them out, and don’t give them anything as far as your information goes. Chances are they won’t keep calling you back if you make them nervous. They know what they’re doing is illegal, and there have been international busts on scam call centers before.
ask for a callback number too “in case we get disconnected during the duration of this call”.
When you talk, sound authoritative and official. It’ll freak them the fuck out.
I get a call several times a week. The number they’re calling from is tied to a NJ number…which actually belongs to a legit repair shop. I always miss the call….but I wish I could get someone on the line…so I can curse them out.
Recently received a call from the Department of Education about discussing a student loan forgiveness. Ha! I never applied or had a student loan. A scam alert!
Glad to hear you didn’t fall for it!!