The FBI has issued a warning that scammers are targeting students seeking to enroll in the Federal Student Aid Program in order to steal their personal information, payment details and cash.
Federal Student Aid allows you to reduce student loans from $10,000 to $20,000. The program is only for students with incomes of less than $125,000.
Attackers create phishing websites that mimic an application form, send phishing e-mails or SMS with "eligibility for benefits", and try to use several channels of fraud against people. Cybercriminals offer access to the Federal Program by contacting potential victims by phone, email, SMS, and other means.
The scammers trick students into paying for "services" or simply collect information about the victims, which they can then use in other fraudulent schemes.
There are an estimated 45 million student loan borrowers in the US, totaling $1.6 trillion in debt.
The FBI also said that the application process does not require users to log into any accounts, nor does it ask them to upload their documents, personal or financial, in the first step of the application.
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