Avoiding Student Loan Scams

As student loan debt continues to impact millions of borrowers, scammers are increasingly targeting vulnerable individuals with false promises of debt relief, loan forgiveness, or lower monthly payments. These schemes often exploit confusion around legitimate government programs and evolving repayment policies.

Two Types of Scams

Too-Good-to-be-True: Scammers often lure borrowers with promises that sound too good to be true — and they usually are. These scams typically advertise immediate loan forgiveness, guaranteed approval for programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or drastically reduced monthly payments with no effort required from the borrower. In many cases, they claim to have special access to federal programs or offer "limited time" opportunities that pressure borrowers into acting quickly.

• Promises of instant or guaranteed loan forgiveness
• Claims that a company is working “with the Department of Education” but isn't listed on StudentAid.gov
• Upfront fees or recurring payments for services that federal loan servicers offer for free
• High-pressure tactics, like limited time offers or threats of missed deadlines

In reality, no private company can fast-track or guarantee forgiveness. Legitimate federal student loan programs have specific eligibility criteria, timelines, and application processes. Borrowers should be cautious of unsolicited offers and verify all information through trusted government sources.

Impersonation: Impersonation scams occur when fraudsters pose as trusted entities—such as the U.S. Department of Education, a loan servicer, or a well-known debt relief company—to trick borrowers into giving up personal information or making payments.
These scammers often use official-looking logos, fake email addresses, or caller ID spoofing to appear legitimate. They may contact borrowers by phone, email, text, or even mail, claiming urgent action is needed—such as verifying your account, consolidating your loans, or applying for a forgiveness program.
Common warning signs include:

• Unexpected calls or emails demanding sensitive information (Social Security number, FSA ID, bank info)
• Requests for upfront fees to “enroll” you in a program
• Pressure to act immediately or risk losing benefits
• Communications from email addresses or phone numbers that don’t match official sources

Important to remember:
The U.S. Department of Education and your federal loan servicer will never call or email you out of the blue asking for personal login information or demanding payment over the phone. When in doubt, always go directly to StudentAid.gov to verify your account or contact your servicer.

How to Protect Yourself from Student Loan Scams

• Do not click on any links or open attachments contained within unsolicited emails or text messages. Instead hover over any links to see where it is actually going to take you.
• Do not reply to scam emails, texts, etc., or contact the senders in any way.
• If you receive a phone call about your loan that seems suspicious, inform the caller that you will need to call them back. Then go directly to your lender or servicer’s website or a recent loan statement to verify the phone number. Some scammers can even transmit a phone number to your caller ID to match the real one (known as spoofing).
• If an email, text message, letter, or phone call appears to have come from a person or organization you know of but the message is unexpected or unusual, contact them directly via another method to confirm that they are legitimate.
• If you receive an email or text message which asks you to login to an online account via a link provided, instead of clicking on the link, open your browser and go directly to the company’s website yourself.
• If you have clicked on a link in the email or text message, do not supply any information on the website that may open.

Avoid Being a Victim

• Never Pay an Up-front Fee
• Don’t sign up for quick loan forgiveness
• Don’t trust a Department of Education seal or company logo
• Don’t be rushed
• Don’t provide your FSA ID to anyone
• Avoid extraordinarily long and complicated contracts
• Be suspicious of any free trials or money-back guarantees
• Don’t pay for advice

Spotting Student Loan Scams

One of the easiest ways to detect a scam is to pay close attention to how the message is written. While some scams look sophisticated, many still contain errors that can give them away.

 
Key things to look for:

• Spelling and grammar mistakes: Official communications from the U.S. Department of Education or your loan servicer are carefully reviewed for accuracy. Typos, awkward phrasing, and poor grammar are common signs of a scam.
• Unprofessional formatting: Look out for strange fonts, inconsistent spacing, blurry logos, or mismatched branding. Real government or loan servicer emails and letters use clear, professional design.
• Suspicious email addresses or URLs: Always check the sender’s email. Messages from addresses that don’t end in “.gov” or that include strange combinations of letters and numbers should raise red flags. Hover over links to make sure they lead to trusted sites like StudentAid.gov.

Tip: If an email or letter doesn’t “feel right,” trust your instincts. Compare it to past official communications or log in to your loan account directly to confirm whether any action is needed.

What to do if You have Fallen Victim of Student Loan Scam

• Contact your federal loan servicer to ensure that unwanted actions were not taken on your loans
• Contact your bank or credit card company to stop all payments to the scammers
• Submit a complaint to the Federal Student Aid (FSA)
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
• Report scam to your state attorney general

If you Paid a Scammer

• Contact the company or bank that issued your credit card, gift card, or debit card and let them know it was a fraudulent charge. Ask them to reverse the transaction and give you your money back
• If it was an unauthorized bank transfer, contact your back and let them know it was an unauthorized debit or withdrawal
• If it was a wire transfer, contact the wire transfer company or your bank and let them know it was a fraudulent transfer and ask for your money back
• If it was through a money transfer app, then report it to the company behind the money transfer app and ask them to reverse the payment or report fraud to the card you have linked to the app
• If you used cryptocurrency…typically are not reversible. Once you pay with cryptocurrency, you can only get your money back if the person you paid sends it back. But contact the company you used to send the money and tell them it was a fraudulent transaction. Ask them to reverse the transaction, if possible.

If You Gave a Scammer Your Personal Information

If you provided a scammer with your social security number: Go to IdentityTheft.gov to see what steps to take, including how to monitor your credit.

 
If you provided your username/password: Create a new, strong password. If you use the same password anywhere else, change it there, too.

If You Have Uncovered a Student Loan Scam

If you have come across what may be student loan scam, submit a complaint/report of suspicious activity with the Federal Student Aid (FSA)

 
If you think the scam involves your FSA ID, or if you have shared your FSA ID details with someone you suspect may be a scammer:

1. Log in to your FSA account.
2. Change your password as soon as possible.
3. Check your account information for accuracy such as your contact email, address, phone number.
4. File a complaint so that the FSA can monitor your account for continued suspicious activity.

THE FSA OR ITS PARTNERS WILL NEVER ASK FOR YOUR FSA ID PASSWORD.