TRANSCRIPT:
FRED - It's Morning Edition on KRPS. I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro.
Friday, September 1st, three weeks from today.
Student loan interest that was pausedduring the early months of the pandemic will restart and so will payments the following month.
These changes will likely unleash a storm of scams on the tens of millions of Americans who hold student debt.
I recently spoke with the Regional Director of the Better Business Bureau Pamela Hernandez in Springfield, MO. I first asked Pam what she was hearing from 4-state residents and borrowers ahead of the changes.
PAM - You're absolutely right that the confusion has already started. The scammers are already trying to take advantage of that.
So just looking at even reports to Better Business Bureau in Missouri, in our area, students are getting calls, voice messages, and emails saying you may be eligible.
Please call this number. Now it's hard to sometimes distinguish that. So that's why it's important to know who legitimately has and services your student loan.
So, for example, one student who received a phone call they were, they were told that they might be eligible for forgiveness. They were given a phone number to call between a certain time, in New Mexico.
You know, and that they just needed some personal information to process that request. The student was smart.
They contacted the holder of their student loan and the student loan company said absolutely not. We don't call it like that. We don't send emails, that's a scam.
So, it's really just important to understand who actually. Holds your student loan. And to contact them directly about any kind or restructuring or forgiveness.
FRED - Yeah, I paid off my student loans, but it is complicated to understand the different websites, their uses, timelines, how much money you owe, and the interest rates.
So what are some of the best practices for those who do owe money to avoid scams just going directly to the people you owe money to or the like the US Department of Education, where do you go?
PAM - You know, it starts with again knowing the terms of your student loan and knowing who services that loan and the ends and outs of your loan.
You can certainly contact your loan servicer directly, but you can also go to a government website likestudentaid.gov, where you can get more specifics.
It’s important to know that you never have to pay money for government free government programs if you are eligible for any kind of forgiveness or restructuring.
That's not going to cost you. And be wary of any kind of out-of-the-blue calls or e-mail to text messages. That's not how these government agencies will contact them.
FRED - And I'll say to people who've already had student loan debt and they've paid it off even completely. I did that about ten years ago.
I still get an occasional letter from somebody reaching out to me to have my student loan debt serviced or something like that to that effect. So even after you pay off the debts, you can still get letters from these people.
Looking to phish right through the mail. Mainly that's how I get them.
PAM - That and that's correct. I've gotten voicemails myself, and text messages and I'm the same.
I paid off my student loans many, many years ago go, but again, scammers try to take advantage of the confusion and that's why it's called phishing they throw out a wide net and see if they can get someone to bite because we don't want to think we forgot to pay something or we forgot to do something.
And that little moment of panic can set off a moment of, “I’ve got to call this person, I've got to find out what's going on” and then unfortunately next thing you know, you're sharing your personal information, which can lead to identity theft.
FRED – Right, because people who are listening may not recognize that a lot of times, it's not just one servicer. I think I had three different services that I had to work with to get that loan paid off.
What are some surefire red flag moments that should stop consumers in their tracks about student loans if they're contacted? What are just some huge red flags that that you that consumers should be aware of?
PAM - Well, again, anything saying that you have to pay for what would be a free government program, nobody's going to ask in advance for a processing fee. So that is a big red flag.
OK, text messages. Those are not, you know, governments are not going to contact you that way.
Government agencies, emails, they're not going to contact you that way.
So again, that's another big red flag.
And you know you. Also, want to be careful because there's a lot of misinformation out there.
Information about these programs that come from friends or family members, maybe they're sharing.
Something they saw on social media.
That can also lead to some problems, so just be wary of anything you get forwarded from a well-meaning friend or family member.
Go directly to the source.
Pamela Hernandez of the Better Business Bureau. Thanks for your time and advice.
