Student loan scams are on the rise as the pause on payments is due to expire

Like millions of Americans, Emmy Ross has a bunch of student debt. So when she started getting phone calls from people offering to help have the loans forgiven, she was immediately interested.

The problem? They were scammers asking for things such as her account details or credit card number.

Ross figured out the con pretty quickly. But her mom, Jing Su, was also getting the calls.

“I thought it was serious because they are so persistent,” Jing Su said. “I said, ’I got a call again. So what is the story?’ You know?”

Ross tried to tell her mom they weren’t real.

“Every time we would get on the phone, she’d be like, ’Oh, did you call the student loan people yet?’ And every time, I’d be like, ’Mom, it’s not real. It’s a scam,’ ” Ross said.

Thankfully, the callers didn’t get any information or payment details out of Ross or her mom. But not everyone has been so lucky.

This winter, the Federal Trade Commission warned about an increase in student loan scams. Those scams prey on confusion. President Biden said during his campaign that he was open to forgiving some student debt, but that hasn’t happened yet...