You may have heard of companies saying they can help you by reducing or eliminating student loan debt.  These are often scams that may involve companies requesting an illegal advance fee of up to $1,500.  The company then provides very little (if any) assistance.  In fact, these companies do not do anything that you couldn’t do yourself for free by contacting your loan servicer or the U.S. Department of Education.

Fortunately, the FTC is going after these scammers in a new joint effort with state law enforcement agencies called, “Operation Game of Loans”.  You can read more about the operation here, including tips to avoid scams.