I recently received two letters promising to provide me with “total student loan forgiveness,” lower interest rates, and $0 per month student loan payments. This raised the question of whether there were now student loan scams by mail to worry about.
The companies behind the letters did a good job making themselves appear to be legitimate. They knew my total federal balance and had my name and address. At first glance, it looked like legitimate student loan paperwork. Both of the letters were also full of red flags, though.
Sherpa Tip: Sometimes it is challenging to separate a scam from legitimate information.
For example, the recent major expansion of PSLF that requires some borrowers to consolidate might seem like a scam because it is both confusing and sounds too good to be true.
If you find verification on studentaid.gov or through your federal loan servicer, you can be certain it isn’t a scam.
The Red Flags – Signs the Letter Might be a Scam
No Company Name Listed – One of the letters didn’t have the company’s name listed at all. The fine print at the bottom used the term “The Company” without ever saying the name of the company. If someone wants your business, they should attach their name to it. If you can’t even look up the company name, it is because they don’t want you to.
Instructions to create your Federal Student Aid ID – One of the letters included instructions on creating my FSA ID. The only reason they would want me to create this ID is if they were going to ask for it. You should never share this information with anyone. According to the Department of Education:
“Your username and password are used to sign legally binding documents electronically. They have the same legal status as a written signature. Don’t give your password to anyone or allow anyone to create a username and password for you. If a company has access to your account username and password (FSA ID) information, they can make changes to your account without your permission.”
New Laws – This is another standard scammer tool. They announce a new law just put into place that only they know about. It is unlikely, however, that there is a new student loan law. If there was, you would know about it from watching the news, reading a newspaper, or visiting sites like this. If you cannot verify any new student loan law from a reputable source, the odds are very high that you are looking at a scam.
Document Preparation and Application Assistance – The fine print on both letters I received made it clear that the only thing they were actually doing was helping to submit applications or process paperwork. If I called them, I’m sure they would compare their efforts to having an accountant fill out a tax return. This is a scam.
These document preparation companies charge hundreds of dollars, hoping you won’t realize they’re just filling out a 20-minute form. They almost certainly will not offer helpful insight for any particular financial circumstance.
Important Deadline – If a letter mentions an important deadline on your student loans, be wary. Your loan servicer would inform you directly of any important deadlines for your student loans. If the first you hear about this “deadline” is from an advertisement or letter from an unknown company, there probably isn’t a real deadline at all.
Protecting Yourself
If you get a letter and question its legitimacy – One somewhat effective method is to Google the company’s name. If they don’t have a name listed on the letter, you already know it isn’t legitimate. However, this method will not root out 100% of the bad apples because some of these companies are good at posting fake positive reviews and burying the very real complaints. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has some additional advice for evaluating these companies.
If you think they took or are about to take your money – If you have already gone down the rabbit hole and want to get your money back, it will be very tricky.
If you already paid them, demand they return your money. Inform them that you will be submitting a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and your state’s attorney general if it isn’t promptly returned. Over the years, we have found that law enforcement is good about pursuing these companies but often slow to respond, as they need time to build a case. These scammers go to great effort to stay off law enforcement’s radar. The threat of reporting their scam is the threat they are most likely to take seriously.
If you sent a check that has not cleared, you could put a stop payment on it. If they took payment via credit card, you could report the charge as a fraudulent charge to your credit card company.
Regardless of what happens with the scammer, keep a very close eye on your credit report. They will likely have enough information to commit identity fraud.
Getting Back at the Scammers
There is definitely a temptation to take action to put these shady people and businesses in their place.
Calling them to waste their time might seem satisfying, but in the end, you are just wasting your time and putting a bigger target on your back.
The step most likely to make a difference would be to file a complaint with the government. In most states, the attorney general is tasked with protecting consumers from fraud. If you file a complaint with your state’s attorney general, it can alert law enforcement to the fraudulent activity.
One person taking action usually won’t make a difference, but if enough people are willing to step up, it could prevent many others from becoming victims.
Bottom Line – Don’t Take Anything at Face Value
Student loans are scary, and they affect many people. For years scammers have been taking advantage of the student loan problem in the United States.
Generally, a good rule of thumb regarding student loans is to double-check everything you are told, regardless of the source. You might misunderstand something, a loan servicer might have told you something in error, or someone could be trying to take advantage of you.
Bottom line, if you think that a situation is sketchy – even if you’re unsure why – you should trust your judgment.
For additional information about student loan scams, read here.
Signature Processing Services
Senior Loan Advisor
A phone call with her and everything happened so quickly. Wish I would’ve looked here before providing all of my info. I already contacted my bank. Please provide me with tips.
Thank you!
I’m sorry to hear that it happened to you. I’ve previously written an article with tips on what to do if you think you have been the victim of a student loan scam.
Help! I fell for this. No money yet taken. It was just today. Do I change my banking info? I feel like a fool.
Oh No! That sounds awful!
Last summer, I wrote an article with tips and suggestions if fear you might be the victim of a scam.
I received a FINAL NOTICE letter on 09/19/2022 titled Student loan consolidation & Payment Reduction Program Prepared for:—
It had the benefit id#. It was written to go to https://nslds.ed.gov
I hit a road block after hitting “Financial Aid Review” and “Accept”. That seemed weird. I called 888-307-6901 and spoke with a rep. I gave them the benefit Id# on the letter but was told that it did not pull up anything. STRANGE!!! Why include that in the letter and it’s not working? He asked for my email address. I provided that but was told the email did not go. STRANGE!!! He asked me to provide my name and home address. I was skeptical. I asked why? He said it was to confirm what they have. But he said he couldn’t pull up anything with the benefit id???? He also asked for my last four ssn and then account/routing number to collect payment. I wasn’t comfortable with that. I said I will call back later. My fear is that I gave my last four ssn. Am I in danger? He sounded so convincing and he even mentioned the correct name of my lender and my student loan amount. I did not give him that information. It sounded so good to be true and I felt something wasn’t right. Now I have to setup fraud alerts 🙁
GUYS BEWARE!!!
I received a letter stating, “Final Notice” and in bold letters “Student Loan Consolidation & Payment Reduction Program Prepared For:”
It stated I had until 07/16/2021 to respond. It knew my total student loan amount and stated I may quality for student loan forgiveness.
The letter directed me to create a FSA ID (Federal Student Aid ID) at that point I received an email stating my password was changed. The representative stated I qualified for Income Driven Payment program which it would total $77.58. She stated $38.58 will go directly to the principal of my student loan and $39 will go to Student processing center. She stated I qualify for the 25-year student loan program. Nonetheless, I provided her with my routing and checking account number. She was charging me $799 for the consolidation fee and stated it will be taken out in 2 sections. Upon doing my research, I immediately called my bank and changed all my information and changed my email address on my FSA account.
**BE CAREFUL**
Thanks for sharing your story and offering a warning for others.
The same happen to me… I received the same letter, but I did not call or make any type of contact with them.. I know this was a scam. Just be careful
I just received the “Final Notice” letter announcing “new laws discounting federal student loans” with no company name listed anywhere on the letter. Thanks for offering this info to those who receive letters like this to help us avoid the frustration and financial ruin of scammers.
So happy I found this site. This scam needs to be made more aware of especially to us poor students who want all the reductions we can get. I was nearly sucked in, but I didn’t have my information on me and told them I would call them back (I’m not going to now thanks to you all). The phone number listed was 866-375-1264. I spoke with a Nichole and she gave me her direct line of 714-503-0497. Do not contact them or give them your information.
Thanks for the kind words and thank you for sharing your experience. Hopefully, it helps others.
hi i fell for some of this but gave no info from bank am I ok?
Hi Chris,
Not giving them any bank information was a smart move. There are a few other moves to consider if they have any of your information.
The letter I received said final notice for loan forgiveness. I called them yesterday hoping I could get help with my student loan before the new year. All they got from me was my new address and email, I dont know what damage they can do with that information. I called the number 866-448-0216 and talked with Erica. Luckily I did not have all my FSA information ready and she said someone would call me back from a (714) area code. My wife noticed all the red flags on the letter and we started looking into them.
It is a good thing you caught it before giving them your FSA information. Good save by your wife!!
How do they know the amount of my student loans??
Great question. That information is listed on your credit report, and given the many security issues the credit bureaus have had, they could have gotten the info any number of ways.
OMG! I got the same kind of scam regarding student loan payment reduction and/or forgiveness! I called them and they made it seem totally legit until they asked me to give them access to my FSA ID and password so that they can access my info, in order for them to pull the loan data for the software to calculate. I knew it was something sketchy when they asked me for my FSA user info. Be Very Careful of this SCAM! I am so glad that I did not fall for this scam!- they ALMOST got me!
Nicely done Jules!
Glad to hear you didn’t fall for that one. It is really scary how convincing they can be.
I get two or three of the no company name student loan consolidation letters a year. They drop the name US Dept of Education and that you can get a federally backed consolidation with a lower interest rate but there is no way to contact them other than by telephone number, 866-220-6454. I have reported them to the FTC as of today but is there another place to report them? The CFPB would need the company’s name and address so it can’t be reported to them. I wish the real dept of Ed could inform all borrowers of these scams posing as them.
It would be great if the Dept. of Ed. could do something to prevent people from posing as Dept. of Ed. affiliated companies when they are not.