Student loan forgiveness

Someone contacts you offering quick relief from your federal student loans or warning that the student loan forgiveness programs will end soon. To assist you, they may require that you pay an up-front fee, provide your Federal Student Aid ID, and/or provide them permission to speak to your federal loan servicer on your behalf.

If you've seen an ad or received a call from a debt relief company promising to pay off your loans, don't take them up on it.  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) offers some legitimate student loan forgiveness programs and ways to lower your student loan payments – all free to apply for through your official loan servicer. You'll know you're talking to a student loan debt relief company that could potentially scam you, instead of ED or an official federal student loan servicer, if you notice any of the following three things:

• You're Asked to Pay an Upfront Cost or Monthly Fees
• You're Promised Immediate Loan Forgiveness
• You're Asked to Provide your FSA ID Password

If you have already turned over your personal information or paid a student loan debt relief company, consider one or all of the following options:

• Log in and change your FSA ID. Do NOT share your new FSA ID password with anyone.
• Contact your loan servicer to revoke any power of attorney or third-party authorization agreement that your servicer has on file. You should also make sure no unwanted actions were taken on your loans.
• Contact your bank or credit card company and request that payments to the student loan debt relief company be stopped.
• File a complaint with the FTC.
• File a report of suspicious activity through the Federal Student Aid Feedback System.