CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Millions of people with student loans, including college students of the Coastal Bend, are going to be starting payments in October.
Action 10 News spoke with Kieran McKenzie a few weeks ago. He’s a former college student who hasn’t thought about his loans since he left school.
“I just got out of college, so it’s takes a second for the government to send you an email telling you to start paying them,” McKenzie said.
The BBB said scammers are targeting college graduates.
“Reports are barley starting to trickle in and that’s another big problem. Only about 5% of people who are scammed report the scam,” Katie Galan of the Better Business Bureau said.
Scammers are taking advantage of recent changes to student loan repayment programs to confuse borrowers, tricking them into falling for various schemes.
“Nobody can guarantee you that they can completely wipe out your debt or that they can bring it to a certain amount," Galan said. "If they’re starting to use those words, that’s a big red flag."
Galan also said, in another version, dishonest collectors offer a quick fix loan relief in exchange for a minimal fee is paid.
“Now that’s it’s time to start those payments again. You can always check with your lender,” Galan said.
For those navigating student loans like McKenzie and millions of others. It's best to only trust student federal loan resources.