Scamming, in all of its forms, has certainly not taken a break during the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, Heather Clary with the Better Business Bureau of Central and Eastern Kentucky said increased time on computers and phones may make people more vulnerable.
She noted scammers reach out through social media, email, texts, and calls. Clary added difficult financial circumstances can heighten temptation. “They’re going to be ready to jump on anything they can that might help them get out of the hole of debt, but this is not the way to do it. The con artists are counting on that desperation to take advantage of you and take your information and your money and leave you in a worse position than you were to begin with,” said Clary.
The list of scam activities includes offers to reduce or eliminate student loan debt. Clary said a red flag should go up whenever a communication comes offering to help out with a student loan at a cost. “If someone is offering you a chance to forgive the loan or re-work the payments and they’ve reached out to you, you didn’t try to contact them, you should look at that very carefully and not give them all the information until you have checked out their offer completely,” noted Clary.
Clary said often these scammers request a fee for information one can readily get for free. She said it’s not unheard of to receive a communication offering such assistance even when a student loan has already been paid off. Clary added that’s when a wide net is being used to try and lure in a victim. If students believe they have been contacted by a scammer, they should report it to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office.
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