skip to main content

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

play newscast audioPlay

Florida faces lawsuits over its new election law, a medical board fines an Indiana doctor for speaking about a 10-year-old's abortion, and Minnesota advocates say threats to cut SNAP funds are off the mark.

play newscast audioPlay

The White House and Speaker McCarthy gain support to pass their debt ceiling agreement, former President Donald Trump retakes the lead in a new GOP primary poll, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is impeached.

play newscast audioPlay

The growing number of "maternity care deserts" makes having a baby increasingly dangerous for rural Americans, a Colorado project is connecting neighbor to neighbor in an effort to help those suffering with mental health issues, and a school district in Maine is using teletherapy to tackle a similar challenge.

Borrowers Inundated with Student-Loan Scams

play audio
Play

Monday, January 2, 2023   

Scammers targeting student-loan borrowers in Wisconsin and elsewhere are shifting into high gear - spurred by the uncertainty surrounding President Joseph R. Biden's debt-cancellation plan. The Supreme Court will hear a case in late February that seeks to strike down the administration's plan to offer up to $20,000 in debt relief to low-income student loan borrowers.

Michelle Grajales, staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commission attorney, said fraudsters are playing on people's anxieties.

"A major red flag is any company that calls you up and asks you to pay now for help with your loans later. Because that's something that's specifically prohibited under one of the rules we enforce. And so it is really unlikely to be a legitimate company," she said.

The president's debt-cancellation plan is currently on hold while the litigation continues, so it is not processing any applications. The website of the U.S. Department of Education, studentaid.gov, has a link to sign up to be notified if the program is restarted. The pause on federal student loan payments has been extended until the litigation is resolved. The best place to start for accurate information about your loans is to contact your federal loan servicer.

Some scams promise to reduce or zero out your monthly payment, and some target parents who have co-signed on Parent Plus loans. Grijales said the familiar adage applies: "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," she said.

"It could be loan forgiveness. It could be, 'Hey, pay us X amount, and we'll get your loans forgiven right now, or we'll get some large amounts of your principal balance forgiven or canceled,' right? And that might be a benefit that the consumer doesn't actually qualify for," she said.

She added that other scams are circulating where they purport to be your loan servicer and ask that you route your payment through them. Other scams are intended primarily to get people to divulge their personal identity or banking information. For more tips, go to the Federal Trade Commission website.




get more stories like this via email
Florida's newest elections law requires that third-party voter registration groups provide mandatory formal signature-matching training to specified persons by the Florida Secretary of State. (Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

The moment Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping elections bill into law last week, several voter-advocacy groups filed lawsuits against it…


Health and Wellness

play sound

An Indiana licensing board has fined a local physician $3,000 and handed her a letter of reprimand after she went public about a 10-year-old Ohio pati…

Social Issues

play sound

Groups fighting for children's health are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers to require insurance companies to cover hearing aids and related …


There used to be twice as many marshes and wetlands in Pennsylvania as there are today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (Christina Saymansky/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

From conservation to sportsmen's groups, the U.S. Supreme Court is getting plenty of backlash over its most recent ruling, which weakens federal …

Social Issues

play sound

Rural Nebraska could lose on two fronts if two of Gov. Jim Pillen's budget vetoes are allowed to stand. Pillen struck down a second year of …

Smaller and mid-sized farms say due to market concentration and supply-chain issues within agriculture have made it much harder to get their foods to various markets, including schools and restaurants within their own regions. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Rural development leaders say getting healthy, locally grown food to underserved areas is a challenge in states like North Dakota. They hope a new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report spotlights some of the challenges to accessing behavioral health care for the one in seven Americans who live in rural areas. Kendall …

Social Issues

play sound

On Wednesday, Xcel Energy customers will have a chance to tell the Colorado Public Utilities Commission what they think about the company's request - …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021