NBC News, June 24, 2019: Student debt scams flourish with rise in robocalls, advocates say
The crushing weight of Michelle Lannon’s college debt — almost $200,000 in federal loans and $15,000 in a private loan — haunts her until she goes to sleep. When her cellphone rings with an unknown number, which happens daily, she tenses up.
“I keep telling myself: ‘Why did I do this? Why did I go to college?'” said Lannon, 48, who graduated in 2007 and works as a patient advocate for a biotech company in San Diego.
In recent months, the collection practices used by Navient Corp., one of the nation’s largest student-loan servicing companies with 12 million customers, has grown increasingly aggressive, she said: They called her sister; they called a number for her grandmother, who died a decade ago; they called a number for her father, who died three years ago; and they began calling her friend and housemate.
“I’m going to be dead, and they’re going to be at my grave with their hand out saying, ‘You owe us a payment,'” Lannon added.
