The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) is making families with children who are currently attending or have attended college aware of an uptick in scams targeting those who have taken on student loans.

Due to recent challenges to federal relief programs, scammers have taken this opportunity to attempt to scam students by promising lower rates, loan forgiveness, and requests to sign over power-of-attorney. Most often, there will be a request for immediate action, which is a red flag. Students should also be wary of claims that the servicer has ties to the government.

Scammers commonly communicate through the use of telephone calls, text, email, or physical mail.

Those who believe they may have been a target of a student loan scam should immediately contact the Illinois Attorney General’s Student Loan Hotline by calling 1-800-455-2456. The Attorney General’s website can also be a valuable resource to file a complaint for those who believe they have been targeted.