I am so excited to report that for once, this Scam of the Month story is A WIN!

Student Loans are the largest debt that most people have, they they are maddeningly difficult to get paid off.

This creates a perfect opportunity for fraudsters to step in.

And so they did.  But this time, they got caught.

Yesterday, the FTC reported that they have stopped a scheme that conned millions of dollars out of people by claiming that they "worked with the Department of Education" to offer loan consolidation, reduced interest rates or loan payments, or even full loan forgiveness.

After an advance fee of up to $899 and monthly payments, of course.

According to the FTC:

To convince borrowers that their claims were legitimate, the operators allegedly pretended to “work with” or be affiliated with the Department of Education or its approved loan servicers and, in some instances, even advised consumers to stop making payments to their existing loan servicers. The operators then falsely claimed that they would take over responsibility for servicing consumers’ loans, collect monthly student loan payments for a term of up to 20 years, and said that upon completion of those monthly payments, the consumers’ federal student loan debt would be forgiven.

Contrary to Superior Servicing’s false promises, borrowers have reported that they never received loan consolidation, lowered payments, or loan forgiveness, according to the complaint. The FTC noted that at most, and if anything at all, the defendants filled out simple applications for debt relief that are available for free from the Department of Education.

The scheme’s operators have been charged with violating:

• The Impersonation Rule by claiming to be affiliated with the Department of Education
• The FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive practices
• The Telemarketing Sales Rule
• And the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

Thanks to the FTC's complaint, the US District Court for Nevada has so far issued a restraining order, a preliminary injunction, and the scheme's assets have been frozen.

Definitely a win on this one!  But they are probably not the only scammers out there preying on people overwhelmed by student loans.  So be aware, and as always - do your research and if something sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

Be safe out there, and Happy Holidays!