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Cybersecurity Scam of the Week – Student Load Debt Relief Scams

Written by Chris Madeksho

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Like with any major news story, scammers are trying to cash in on the US Supreme Court decision last week regarding student loan debts. With the ruling came the announcement that loan repayments will start back in October, so bad actors are offering “help”. Scammers are likely to start blasting out robocalls and texts about “helping” you with your loans. Know how to spot these scams:

  • Never pay for help with your student loans. There’s nothing a company can do that you can’t do yourself for free. Get help at StudentAid.gov/repay. If your loans are private, go directly to your loan servicer.
  • Don’t give away your FSA ID login information. Anyone who says they need it to help you is a scammer. If you share it, the scammer can cut off contact between you and your servicer — and even steal your identity.
  • Don’t trust anyone who contacts you promising debt relief or loan forgiveness, even if they say they’re affiliated with the Department of Education. Scammers try to look real, with official-looking names, seals, and logos. They promise special access to repayment plans or forgiveness options — which don’t exist. If you’re tempted, slow down, hang up, and log into your student loan account to review your options.

If you spot a scam, the FTC wants to hear about it. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

What has been reported to abuse@uthsc.edu this past week?

  • [Ext] Planing – that’s all it said – “Planing”, but it came from an Australian email address with directions to reply using another email address. 
  • [Ext] Unanswered Call (30 Seconds) – this phish had an .HTML file attached pretending to be an audio file. This did not come from Ring Central.
  • [Ext] New Voice Record (0m 29s) – like the one above, this said it was from “Uthsc Missed-Call Notifier” (which is no such thing) that came from a law firm’s email address. Anyone can become compromised, even lawyers. 
  • [Ext] Financial – this phish wanted to recipient to click on an attachment regarding FAFSA (see the scam of the week above), but the email address originated in Japan.

Keep reporting suspicious emails to abuse@uthsc.edu for examination. If you wish to report an incident to the Office of Cybersecurity, use TechConnect.