Did you get an email about debt relief from the “Student-Loan Debt Department” after the White House’s latest debt relief plan announcement? Here’s why it’s a scam.
On April 8, the Biden administration announced its plans to introduce new student debt relief for 30 million student borrowers. Although the president outlined his plans for the new program, it hasn’t been finalized or implemented yet.
That’s why it was strange when one VERIFY journalist received an email that claimed she qualified for forgiveness “under the new 2024 guidelines.”
“Hello this is Mason Woods on behalf of the Student-Loan Debt Department. We tried to contact you at your home and did not hear back. Your StudentLoans have been marked as eligible for forgiveness under the new 2024 guidelines. Your case number is #15219, 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: (844-681-3875) Thank you so much and we hope to hear from you soon, Mason Woods,” the email read.
She’s not alone. Someone posted to Reddit a screenshot of a similar email just two months ago.
THE QUESTION
Is the Student-Loan Debt Department email a legitimate offer for student debt relief?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, the Student-Loan Debt Department email is not a legitimate offer for student debt relief. It’s a scam.
WHAT WE FOUND
The email sent “on behalf of the Student-Loan Debt Department” contains a few major red flags VERIFY spotted that identify it as a scam. There are also a couple of issues outside of the email itself.
The first of those issues is that the “2024 guidelines” have not yet been implemented or even finalized. The White House press release announcing the student debt relief plan outlines what will happen “if the plan is implemented as proposed.”
People wouldn’t be marked as eligible for forgiveness under guidelines that aren’t finalized or implemented yet. Even if they were, it wouldn’t make sense for them to have just a day to claim it when the Department of Education says the plan is months away from being finalized.
Another issue is that a second VERIFY journalist, one who doesn’t have any student loans at all, received a nearly identical email that included a case number. The Department of Education keeps records of who actually has loans and who doesn’t, and would have no reason to offer student loan forgiveness to someone without student loans, or have a case number attached to that person.
But even without that information above, there are ways we can tell the email is a scam. Here’s how:
1. The Student-Loan Debt Department isn’t real
A Google search for “Student-Loan Debt Department” quickly revealed something is up. The search results included pages for Federal Student Aid, the U.S. Department of Education and the California Student Aid Commission, but nothing for anything called the Student-Loan Debt Department.
The Education Department does not list a Student-Loan Debt Department on its website. The office within the department that’s responsible for managing student loans, including student loan…
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