State of Connecticut Department of Banking

Martin Luther King, Jr. Corridor Designation - Request for Information The Department of Banking is seeking applications for the designation of "Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Corridors" to promote secured and unsecured lending in the state with the intention of stimulating economic development within those corridors. More information may be found here. Apply via the DAS CTSouce Bid Board, type DOB-24084 in the search field.

Financial Aid Scam Protection

Protect Yourself from Financial Aid Scams

Paying for college is likely to be one of the biggest monetary investments you can make in your lifetime.  Scammers take advantage of this and will often make false claims promising they can help you get financial aid, offer ways to help lower monthly student loan payments, or even eliminate balances entirely.  Protect yourself from these scams by looking for the warning signs.

Signs of a scam

Here are a few ways to identify financial aid scams including application scams and scams involving student loan debt relief.

  • Aggressive or Urgent Advertising Language.  
    Financial aid and student loan scams often use aggressive and/or urgent language.  Examples include language telling you to:
    • “Act Now/Immediately!”
    • “Don’t miss this opportunity!”
    • “Decide quickly!”
    • “Your student loan has been flagged for forgiveness.  Call now!”
  • Promises that seem too good to be true.  
    Scammers may make promises that offer to find special programs or promise immediate and total student loan cancellation, often after requesting an up-front or monthly fee.  Be wary of these promises as most government forgiveness programs have specific requirements that must be met before forgiving loans such as years of qualifying payments and/or employment in certain fields.
  • Charging and pressuring you to pay up-front or monthly fees. 
    If a company or service requires an up-front fee, this is a huge red flag.  The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form is a free application.  Student loan servicers offer free assistance on your student loans.  The current list of federal services can be found here.  You may also determine if your student loan servicer is licensed by the Department of Banking to do business in Connecticut by visiting Student Loan Servicers Licensed in Connecticut.
  • Asking for log-in information.  
    The U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid (FSA), and their partners will never ask you for your log-in information.  Your FSA ID is a unique username and password that allows you to access information about your federal financial aid.  If you give your information away to a person or company, this may allow them to make changes to your student loan on your behalf. 
  • Asking you to sign and submit a third-party authorization form.  
    Written agreements such as “third party authorizations” or a “power of attorney” grant legal permission to a person or company to talk and/or make decisions on your student loans on your behalf.  In some cases, they may even ask you to pay them directly while promising to forward the payment to your servicer.  As a result, this may allow them to cut off communication between you and your servicer and you are no longer aware that your monthly student loan bill is no longer being paid.
  • Communications contain typos, spelling errors, or grammatical errors.  
    Spelling and grammatical errors are red flags that an official looking communication may not be legitimate.  If you notice unusual capitalization, incomplete sentences, typos, or improper grammar, it is likely the communication was not sent by a company affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education or FSA.
  • Unofficial addresses or phone numbers.  
    Scammers will often use official-looking names, seals, and/or logos.  Be cautious about any communications you receive regarding your financial aid including letters, emails, phone calls and/or texts.  Double check URLs and don't click on any links that look suspicious.  Learn what official communications from FSA and their partners look like.  Below are the official email addresses and official text numbers for FSA:
    • Email Addresses:
    • Texts:
    •  Text messages from FSA will only come from 227722 or 51592.

Did you know?  In 2023, FTC actions led to more than $324 million in refunds to consumers affected by student loan scams across the country.  Read more here.

Report Scams or Fraudulent Activity

If you think you have been the target of a financial aid scam, act fast and report it using one or all the options below: