Scammers are already preying on people hoping to speed up the loan forgiveness process
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – People want their student loan relief and they want it now, but that rush to clear debt could leave some falling victim to scammers, the Better Business Bureau said.
After the Biden Administration announced Wednesday it would forgive $10,000 in federal student loans for people making less than $125,000 a year and $20,000 for anyone who received a Pell Grant, scammers got to work.
“This is no surprise that people are starting to get those calls and they will continue,” said Roseann Freitas, a public relations and communications manager with the BBB. “That is where people really need to be careful because now they’re appealing to emotions.”
Some people who heard the announcement from President Joe Biden were left with questions like how would the forgiveness be subtracted from their remaining balance? How does the government know who qualifies? And is there any sort of application process?
The BBB warns scammers could make false promises to answer questions like these.
For many, the debt reduction can’t come soon enough and Freitas fears people looking for a quick fix could find themselves in a compromising situation.
“[Scammers] are going to appeal to people and usually how they’re going to do that is they’re probably going to…
