Student Loan Forgiveness Scams are one of many ways scammers try to part students from their already scarce money. The versions talked about here are aimed primarily at U.S. folk and may not apply internationally.

An example of this kind of scam is (modified off one in r/scams):

From: Luka Simmon (lukuasiemmon@hotmail[.]com)

Hello, this is Luka Simmon on behalf of the Student-Loan Debt Department. We tried to contact you at your home and did not hear back. Your student loans have been marked as eligible for forgivemess under the new 2024 guidlines. Your case number is #67890, and your file will remain open in my system for only one more day. If you could please give your dedicated eligibility line a call at: (8xx-xxx-xxxx) Thank You, Luka Simmon

Note: this has been going around since at least 2023 and could refer to one of several relief programs that may or may not have happened. At least one of these - the one that was supposed to be implemented in 2024, but probably won’t because… well, this page won’t go there.

Usually, these are some form of the advance fee scam: You pay money, they pretend to do things, then they disappear with said money. This payment could be up front or month by month, but the result is the same. At best, they fill out forms that you could do for free - these are the slightly less scammy versions.

There are some red flags on the email above:

  1. No reputable company is going to use a hotmail/gmail/outlook.com address. A legit company is going to have their own email domain - something that is easy enough to implement.
  2. The “Student-Loan Debt Department”? Really? (If you’re not sure, search the name up on the search engine of your choice - and see if it matches the phone number.) In this case, there’s no Student-Loan Debt Department in the U.S., and third parties would not be authorized to do debt relief.
  3. Note the “remain open in my system for only one more day” - it’s a sales/scare tactic to create a sense of urgency.
  4. Bureaucracy takes time - especially when the program is being challenged in court.

How to protect yourself

Delete and ignore, especially if you have no student loans. If you are tempted, visit StudentAid.gov for options.