RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio — A Richmond Heights woman is warning student loan borrowers about a scam that could cost them thousands of dollars.
The woman, who didn't want to be identified, told Good Morning Cleveland anchor Mike Brookbank that she received a call from someone saying she qualified for a program to reduce her student loan repayments.
"They were going to erase $8,260 and I would only have to pay back $1,080," said the woman. "That sounds good for me when you owe $10,000, you want to take advantage of that."
The woman gave her bank card information to the caller, not realizing she missed a red flag.
"When someone calls saying they can forgive your debt, that's not an actual action that can be taken," said David Burke, Manager of Adult Programs and Services at College Now Greater Cleveland. "There's a process to go through to have the debt forgiven, filed through federal student aid."
The woman told Brookbank that the caller knew her name and even had her social security number.
Brookbank asked Burke how scammers are getting people's information to make the initial contact.
"That's a great question because I believe everybody's FSA is private, so the information has to somehow be leaked — some can get hacked," said Burke.
The Richmond Heights woman realized something didn't add up after speaking to her niece. She called her bank right away and was issued a new card. Luckily, none of her money was taken.
If someone randomly reaches out to you saying they can forgive your student loans or reduce your repayments, it's likely a scam. Borrowers themselves must initiate the contact.
The U.S. Department of Education offers several student loan forgiveness programs for free. Click herefor more information.
