People Are Falling For These Wild Student Debt Forgiveness Scams

The Department of Education has been warning borrowers about student debt relief companies since 2012. It began sending out letters in January to companies falsely using its logo, including Perfect Privacy and the Student Loan Project. The department contracts with 10 loan servicers, which manage student loans at no additional charge to borrowers.
The FTC, along with Florida’s State Attorney General, filed a suit in May against two businesses — Consumer Assistance Project and Student Aid Center — that promised to have clients’ debt forgiven. Illinois, New York, Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Washington and Minnesota have all taken similar actions against student debt relief companies operating in their states.
But with each company that is shut down, a new one pops up, said Frotman, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Bureau slapped Student Aid Institute, a student debt relief company, with a $500,000 penalty in March for tricking borrowers into paying for free services and saying it was affiliated with the Education Department. “This is really kind of a whack-a-mole problem for enforcement agencies,” he said. “They take steps to rein in abusive practices and before you know it, entities that sound the same begin popping up on the internet, popping up on the radio, popping up on Facebook.”
Unfortunately for consumers, individual lawsuits against companies are tough to pursue because these businesses use vendors to handle various parts of the operation, said Yu, who currently has about five clients who have been scammed by student debt relief companies.
“It is very hard for individuals to get any kind of recourse because it’s hard to figure out who you’re working with,” she said. “The companies are under capitalized so you’re probably not going to get your money back.”
Full original article found here  https://www.buzzfeed.com/leticiamiranda/student-debt-relief-scams-are-getting-worse?utm_term=.vu8JgJ6g8#.vu8JgJ6g8

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