8008480981

What's the deal?  I never had any student loans.  Why are these people calling me?!  Is this a scam?

Jim W.  ~  You are right.  If you owe money, you should absolutely pay, particularly student loans for the reasons you mentioned.  I have never had a student loan, as I was fortunate enough to have parents who were able and happy to pay for my education.  I'm just nervous for the people I care about who do have loans.  I knew it had nothing to do with me since I don't have a loan, but for people who do, it seems reasonable to give your info to find out what's going on.  I looked on the Dept. of Edu site and the phone number listed isn't the number on the message I received.  I understand that there could be several lines for a large agency but it makes me wonder if this call was legitimate or a scam.  When I called, a woman answered and said, "This is Amanda.  Give me a second."  After a brief pause, she asked, "Can I have your Social Security number to pull up your account?"  I laughed at her and refused to give it.  I could see how I might give it, though, if I did have a loan and wanted to know if there was a problem with it.  She asked if I could be a cosigner or reference on anyone's loan.  I'm not, so again I wasn't inclined to give any information.  I would think that the Department of Education would get in touch with people via mail if necessary.  This just makes me nervous for people who are trusting or caught off guard and give their SS#'s.  I guess it could be totally legit but seems a little weird for a government agency to ask for people to call and give away their SS#'s at the same time they're running TV commercials telling people to be protective of such information.  (I don't know if it's running in all markets but there's a commercial with 2 older couples playing cards and talking about keeping their Medicare cards and the information on them protected.)  Bottom line:  Be cautious about sharing this or any other important/private information.

Hi,

I just called the number on the Dept. Of Edu site and they assured me that 1-800-848-0981 is actually a number for them so it is legit...nothing to worry about if you gave them your info.  I have never taken a loan for school so I knew it wasn't for me.  I called the number and they asked me if I know anyone with a federal student loan.  Since most people take loans to pay for college, I'm guessing I know quite a few people but I wasn't about to list the names of all my family, friends, co-workers so they could tell me who they were looking for.  They're unable to give me the name because that's breaking privacy rules.  SO...they're calling for someone who used me as a reference, presumably because the person defaulted and they want me to help them locate the person, HOWEVER, they can't tell me who the person is.  I'm somehow supposed to provide them with information to contact a person but I can't know who the person is.  I guess it might be helpful for them if I forwarded a list of every person I know along with their address, phone number, etc. and they can see if the person is on the list.  This makes absolutely NO sense and I've now wasted over an hour of my time for no reason.  Frustrating!

I keep getting this call, and I never had student loans!

RECORDing (usually from "unknown #) keeps calling supposedly from the US Dept of Education.
But when you call the # it's ""Direct Loan servicing".  
I have no education loans/debt.

We have been getting this call for several months.  I ignore it.  I Googled the number and have read the posts.  Bottom line - if this is a legit communication why don't they send a formal letter?

I recieved a call, and there is no student loan on my credit report. HELLO!

If you had a student loan.

if you are one that has a student loan out there, then call the company your loan is through, this way they can tell you who to contact and they should know if it is lagit or not. I have no student loan and it's not on my credit report. so no one stole my SS# or any thing of that affect. besides if they want to know if there speeking to the right person they want ask you for you social, they will ask you for the last 4 digits of your socia

This number has been calling me for about a year now with the same automated message. I finally (thanks to this page) returned their phone call, I got a real person on the other end of the line who's first question was "this is (name), what's your social security number?", I told him I wanted to make sure this was legitimate before giving that information to him. He assured me it was, gave me information on it and then asked if I have any student loans (which I do not, although I'm a student). Then, he said he can run my phone number in the system and see who's account it's listed under. He did that, apparently the person who had my number before me has loans that need to be paid. He took my number off her account and made a note to not call me anymore. Very helpful and now I'm not going to be annoyed with these people calling me at all times of the day!

I called them back and they asked for the SS which I never give out.  They then asked for the number that has been called (it is my daughter's phone).  Gave them that and then they asked if we knew so-and-so and we don't.  Am assuming that either someone took out a loan and used that number or it was the previous owner of the number.  Checked out the website with the Department of Education and it is for the Direct Loan Department and a Department of ED website.  The tactics are definitely debt collector tactics as I've had my land line number for 5 years and even his mother didn't know the deadbeat who had it before had changed the number--I still get calls for him.  They said they would remove the number so we shall see.  Wish it were as easy to block numbers on a cell phone as it is on a land line.

maybe they don't have your address and its IMPORTANT?

Nope. Just another debt collection junk call.

this is a legit number calling about yours or someone elses student loan. If you never had a loan or you're not sure who they are calling for, just return the call and give your phone number. They will tell you the name of who they are looking for, and if you don't know that person then they will remove the number.

If you are afraid to call them because you think they will demand money or threaten you.. you should be aware that there are options available to postpone your loan payments while having hardship, unemployment, or other circumstances.

Go to www.dl.ed.gov

One final note.. Direct loans people never call you and ask for your SSN, if anyone CALLS YOU and asks for your SSN then DON'T give it to them! When you return the call, the first thing they ask for is SSN which is used by the servicer to locate the account and verify who they are speaking with. You don't need to give it to them.

When calling being polite to the representative will likely get your number removed or your problem resolved a lot faster than if you are rude.

This is flat-out wrong.  The US Dept. of Education DOES call people in relation to past-due student loans.  If it has been more than 6 months since you graduated, or stopped attending, college then you WILL receive letters and phone calls from the DoE for repayment of loans.  It is NOT a scam, and is NOT identity thieves trying to steal your social security number.

If you are uncomfortable answering the phone and giving out your information, then get on the DoE's website and call them directly.  You will find that, after you either set up a payment arrangement or establish a forbearance due to insufficient income to repay, you will find that the phone calls stop.  

People have gotten overly suspicious.  Anytime someone asks them for personal information, no matter how legitimate the reason may be, people instantly want to scream "identity theft."  It isn't always the case.

My 10 year old daughter keeps getting calls.  I called back and the person who had the number before her was the one they were looking for.  The person was very nice and removed the number from the record so she would not get any further calls/VM's.

Your a horrible federal employee......dont have to tell you why, just read your post.

I agree with this post. I feel this person should lose their job and not be able to make their own payments. Wonder how much they would cry over their own issues. Would they take their own advice, I doubt it. People act like we have 10's of thousands in the bank and refuse to pay bills. Bottom line, we live in a country that keeps people in debt. There has to be a group of people who recieve loans and not pay them back or the system wouldnt work....... Didnt you know that if all debt in America was cleared there would not be a single dollar in cirrculation? A dollar bill is a note of debt.

Hey guys, I just had the same panic that all of you had. Please see http://www.finaid.org/educators/phone.phtml - as you can see, it's from the Collections department of the Direct Loan Servicing Center.

800-848-0981 is a real number for the Dept. of Education.  The recorded calls are a fraud, not debt collection.  If you receive one of these recordings and call back, a young girl answers the phone.  She will immediately ask for your SSN.  She will offer to look up your account by name or phone number but will ask again for your SSN.  She says that the Dept. of Education will not send any notices or communications by mail or email.

Ask her what agency she works for, who is her manager, etc.  She will repeat "Dept. of Education" and the website link over and over.  

These scumbags should be sent to prison forever.