‘Anybody could fall for it’: Watch out for scams as student loan forbearance nears end

CHARLOTTE — Many student loan borrowers haven’t had to pay back their student loans during the pandemic, but they will have to start in less than two months.

The federal government extended the student loan forbearance measures until May 1. Scammers know this and see an opportunity to play off any confusion the change brings.

Toya, who asked Channel 9 not to share her last name, has student loans, so when she got an email about it, it did not seem too odd.

The email said, “We tried to contact you at your home and did not hear back. It looks like your student loan may be eligible for the recent stimulus forgiveness and relief legislation (Cares Act) …”

But there were some red flags. The email did not include a company name and used a Hotmail address instead of an official business account. There were also several grammatical mistakes.

Fortunately, Toya was suspicious. “It just didn’t sound right, so that’s why I copied it and sent it to you, to kind of see what was what,” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “It never hurts to dig a little deeper to see if it’s really true, or if it’s just a phishing scam or something.”

The U.S. Department of Education has information about scams on its website. It gives examples of suspicious calls, emails and texts that you may receive.

One example is like the email Toya got. It says, “You are now eligible to receive benefits from a recent law that has passed regarding federal student loans, including total forgiveness in some circumstances. Federal student loan programs may change. Please call within 30 days of receiving this notice.”

“Anybody could fall for it,” Toya said.

Advice from Action 9:

- Watch out for any call, email or text you didn’t ask for, especially if it’s aggressive, urgent or wants you to rush to make a decision.

- Be suspicious if it has spelling mistakes, wants you to pay anything up front or promises you total loan forgiveness.

- Never give out your username or password.

If you are not sure if you can trust the company contacting you, federal education officials have a list of trusted companies here.

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