Consumer complaint received 2021-08-16
Company: SL Finance LLC
State: CA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Getting a loan
Sub-issue: Fraudulent loan

Complaint:
STUDENT LOAN SCAM ( fake third-party debt relief company ) : XX/XX/21 XXXX PST I received a voicemail message from " XXXX '' XXXX stating " I'm actually just doing a follow up call regarding your public student loans... we still have you prequalified for a student loan forgiveness program ''. Knowing that I've been procrastinating with applying to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) Program - I work with XXXX  people for XXXX - I wanted to call back to find more details about the program. I called back the number " XXXX '' left XXXX. I spoke to " XXXX '' on XX/XX/21 XXXX PST for 42mins. from fraudulent SL FINANCE. Note : We all know XXXX is not the scammer 's real name. 

1. First when I called I said I was calling about the student loan forgiveness program. XXXX hung up. Then I thought our call dropped so I called again and XXXX said " are you calling about the student loan forgiveness program? '' My guess is that the XXXX number that fraudulent SL FINANCE uses might be for multiple scams and not just for student loans. While on the phone call, at XX/XX/21 XXXX PST an email is sent titled " Borrower Eligibility Confirmation '' therefore, I truly believed my loans would be consolidated and forgiven under the 'William D. Ford Direct Loan Program XXXX aka federal forgiveness program per SL FINANCE with 5 payments of {$190.00} starting XX/XX/21. 

2. Next thing XXXX asked for my email. Come to find out, XXXX logs into studentaid.gov FSA and enters my email for the login. Now since the computer device XXXX is using is not recognizable, XXXX asks for the FSA ID temporary code sent as a text message to my cell phone. I provided it. Once logged into my FSA, XXXX is able to see my whole profile including SS # and home addresses. He even knows how many children I have which is the scariest part!! XXXX also asks additional information such as current employer and annual salary, for all I know XXXX could be applying to a credit card/loan as we speak! XX/XX/21 XXXX PST an email is sent titled " E-Sign Legal Documents '' and attached is the fake paperwork. XXXX PST another email is sent title " XXXX - Document Completed '' with the fake signed documents via XXXX XXXX. The website XXXX is fake because when you refresh it, a new photo pops up. A separate email is sent at XXXX PST from XXXX titled " Legal Documents '' with a copy of the signed documents. 
MY SOLUTION : call your my loan provider i.e. XXXX XXXX ( I called them on XX/XX/21 XXXX PST ) and cancel/revoke any authorization from a third-party debt relief company requesting to be 'Limited Power of Attorney ' that place your loans under the " General Forbearance Request ''. Any changes in your account you should be notified about. 

3. XX/XX/21 XXXX an email is sent titled " Welcome to your Loan Forgiveness Program ''. Then the documents I signed showed a " Payment Authorization Form '' to pay about {$190.00} every XXXX  of the month for the next 5 consecutive months ( whichever date you agree to have the payment charges made ). 
MY SOLUTION : contact your bank and report your debit/credit card as stolen/lost before they take the money out. ( I was able to do that on my XXXX mobile app ). 

4. Since fraudulent SL FINANCE has my SS #, I contacted all 3 credit bureaus to freeze my credit to prevent any lines of credit from being opened under my name. 
MY SOLUTION : Call XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX I had to XXXX SL FINANCE and see that they are a SCAM and I had emailed XXXX at XX/XX/21 XXXX PST to cancel my enrollment. Of course, I call back the next morning and ask for XXXX and a female voice hangs up my call. Luckily, thus far I don't have any money taken from me or credit opened under my name, but I know sometimes it takes a while to show up in reports so I'll be vigilant to see if anything changes.

Company public response: Company believes the complaint is the result of a misunderstanding
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation