Student loan scams targeting dentists

Dentists make good targets. You carry six-figure federal balances, you’re busy, and 2026 changed the rules: RAP opened July 1, SAVE ended, and PSLF’s employer rule is in court. Federal Student Aid warns that scams often ride on current events.

Here’s how the scams work, what the FTC did about two of them this year, and how to spot the next one.

What the scams look like

Most follow the same script. A call, text or email says your loans qualify for forgiveness or a lower payment. The caller sounds official, may know your balance or servicer, and says you must act fast. Then comes a fee, and often a request for your StudentAid.gov login.

Federal Student Aid quotes pitches like these:

• “Act immediately to qualify for student loan forgiveness before the program is discontinued.”
• “Your student loan is flagged for forgiveness pending verification. Call now!”

It says aggressive language like that won’t come from the Department or its partners.

Two FTC cases from 2026

April 2026: NERD Solutions and ED REF. On April 16, 2026, the FTC announced it had stopped an alleged student loan debt relief operation. A federal court in California issued a temporary restraining order on April 13. The FTC alleges the operators:

• Pretended to be affiliated with the Education Department or borrowers’ own loan servicers.
• Cold-called people, including thousands on the National Do Not Call list.
• Charged illegal upfront monthly fees and falsely promised relief that didn’t exist, collecting at least $8.8 million.

As of the FTC’s announcement, these were allegations, not findings.

July 2026: Superior Servicing. On July 21, 2026, the FTC announced a proposed order permanently banning Dennise Merdjanian from debt relief and telemarketing. The FTC had sued in November 2024. It said she and others pretended to be affiliated with the Education Department, falsely promised forgiveness and took more than $45.9 million. The order includes a judgment of more than $45.9 million, partly suspended because she can’t pay. It needs a judge’s approval to become final.

In both cases, the pitch was the same: government affiliation, forgiveness, and a fee.

The red flags

1. An upfront fee. The FTC says it’s illegal for companies to charge you before they help you with student loan debt relief. A monthly “program fee” before anything happens is the clearest sign.

2. A request for your FSA ID or StudentAid.gov login. The Department and its partners, including loan servicers, will never ask for your StudentAid.gov username and password. Federal Student Aid calls that a guarantee. The FTC warns that scammers can use it to get into your account and steal your identity.

3. A forgiveness guarantee. Federal forgiveness takes years of payments, and for PSLF, qualifying work. The FTC says no one can get you into a forgiveness program you don’t qualify for or wipe out your loans. There’s no special access.

4. A fake government connection. Scammers use official-sounding names, seals and logos. The FTC says not to trust them. Real federal messages come from specific places:

• Email only from noreply@studentaid.gov, noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov or ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com.
• Texts only from 227722 or 51592.
• Federal servicers use web addresses and email addresses ending in .gov, such as edfinancial.studentaid.gov or mohela.studentaid.gov.

5. Pressure to hurry. Deadlines, “first come, first served,” “limited time.” The FTC says to check it out before you sign anything.

6. Typos and odd capitalization. Federal Student Aid lists these as a common sign.

What’s free at StudentAid.gov

Everything a relief company sells for federal loans, you can do yourself or with your servicer, free:

• Pick or switch a repayment plan, including enrolling in RAP. Your servicer can help you lower your monthly payment.
• Consolidate federal loans through StudentAid.gov.
• Apply for PSLF with the PSLF Help Tool at StudentAid.gov/pslf, which can send the form to your employer to sign electronically.
• Find your servicer in your StudentAid.gov dashboard, or by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center.

“Our loan forgiveness programs are always free,” Federal Student Aid says.

Paying for advice isn’t a scam in itself. But no one needs to hold your login or charge you upfront to enroll you in a federal plan. For the free versions, see RAP for dentists, PSLF for dentists and Consolidation vs refinancing.

If you’ve already paid or shared your login

Act fast. Federal Student Aid recommends:

1. Change your StudentAid.gov password right away, and check that your email, address and phone number are still yours.
2. Call your federal servicer. Make sure no one changed your plan or loans, and revoke any authorization the company has on file.
3. Call your bank or card company to stop further payments to the company.
4. File a complaint with Federal Student Aid so it can watch your account.

How to report a scam

• The FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Your state attorney general. The FTC suggests telling them too.
• Federal Student Aid, through its feedback and complaint system at StudentAid.gov.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Federal Student Aid also lists.

What to do next

1. Log in at StudentAid.gov and confirm your servicer, plan and contact details.
2. Save the official addresses and short codes above, so a fake message stands out.
3. Share this page with your classmates. A text that reaches one of you likely reaches the whole class.
4. When the rules change, check After graduation or StudentAid.gov before you believe a pitch.