The FBI office in San Francisco warned the public on Friday to be on the lookout for scammers attempting to cheat people who are applying for federal loan forgiveness. According to Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp, scammers will use the opportunity presented by the launch of new government help programs to deceive more victims.
Scammers and fraudsters may claim, most commonly through electronic communication channels, that they will assist people in applying for the Federal Student Loan Forgiveness program but that they also require personal information or the victim’s money to complete the process.
To have your federal student debts forgiven, the U.S. government won’t collect any administrative fees or demand payments of any kind, according to Tripp. Scam websites may ask for financial details to finish the application procedure, like bank account and routing numbers.
Callers posing as bank employees or representatives of the US Department of Education may ask for personal and/or financial information over the phone. The FBI advises users to only access official U.S. government websites and to exercise caution when providing personal or financial data online.