When Jenny Baney graduated from Bloomsbury University, in Pennsylvania, in 2009, later earning a master’s degree, she felt like she was doing a good job paying off her student loans.

That is until she got a letter from the Department of Advocacy Services from the Department of Treasury saying she owed $96,000 to multiple credit agencies. Additionally, Baney was warned she was late on paying for a portion of her loans. The letter offered to “resolve this distressed debt for as little as $24,000.”

However if she failed to pay her loans, Baney would face “possible legal action from your creditors, which could result in, possible judgements, wage garnishment, levy of funds from your bank accounts or liens placed against your person or property.”

At first, Baney said she believed the warnings. Then she noticed the envelope had an official Department of Treasury seal but no information or return address on it. Baney did a little research and found out that the Department of Advocacy Services doesn’t exist. It was a part of a scam to try to get her money.

Who they target

As students prepare to graduate from college this spring, they may find themselves targets of con artists.

According to the Institute of College Access and Success, 69 percent of students who went to public or private college have student loan debt. The total amount of student debt in the United States is more than $1.2 trillion.

Baney thinks people with student loan debt are “the easiest people to target because of the amount that students pay.”

Kelsey Owens, director of communications and public affairs for Metro Washington, D.C., and Eastern Pennsylvania at the Better Business Bureau, said scammers are “targeting students who just out of college, in college and people years out of college.”

Sometimes, scammers reach out by phone, other times by letter. Owens said she has seen an increase social media advertisements scams through legitimate-looking articles.

Pennsylvania State’s Office of Student Aid warned students that “several websites … as well as blog posts and posts on social media sites, make fraudulent claims that President Obama has extended a student loan debt repayment program.” Like with Baney, Pennsylvania State University reported many of these websites use the official seal of the Department of Education.

Owens said they are easy targets for con artists because “people aren’t very familiar with how their loans work” and want to “start saving for the rest of your life and student loans are a big rain cloud over that.”

“Scammers will go where they think the money is,” said Michael Piecuch, Synder County (Pennsylvania) District Attorney. “Whether it is student loans, tax returns or mortgages — they find a different entry point to the victims. These are the types of cases you hear most about.”

However, it is hard to figure out exactly how many people have been scammed because there is “a category of victims who are too embarrassed to report it,” he said.

Piecuch said while the contents of the scams vary, “the common thread is to create a fear of consequence or punishment,” to trick people into sending money “to remove the threat,” and to disguise themselves as a legitimate institution. Once they have the money, the con artists will disappear.

“People don’t think straight when they are under stress or fear,” he said.

Identify a scam

“It is kind of scary,” Baney said. She remembers wondering if she had missed something on her profile on her loan company’s website. “A lot of people could fall for it. If I had called the number, I might have fallen for it,” she said. “Not everybody thinks to Google or check up on it.”

Piecuch said there are multiple ways to identify a scam. He said people should dismiss all phone calls about loan debt as scams.

“If there is an issue with payments, it will be a letter, not a phone call,” he said.

But if someone does end up on a call with a potential scammer, Piecuch said one warning sign is when they try “to pry personal information out of people.”

“You’re the one calling me, so don’t be asking me for my account number,” Piecuch said. “If they are legitimate, they would already have your information.”

Owens said never to wire money or send pre-paid debt cards up front when faced with a phone call or letter from a potential scammer. “A real lender will take a percentage after the services rendered,” she said. Instead, contact the lender directly about the issue.

Piecuch agrees with Owens. He said to call the phone number on the original loan documents to confirm the letter. He said not to trust the information the suspicious phone call or letter gives out.

The Better Business Bureau has an online scamtracker and weekly scam alerts so that consumers can be aware of what schemes are happening.

However, Owens said the most important thing for people to remember is that you can’t erase debt. “Student loans are rarely forgiven and it is a long complicated process,” she said.

Piecuch said the best way to avoid loan scams is to “be timely with payments, keep good track of payments and have the records.”

He said people need to trust their instincts when it comes to potential con artists. If they are behind on payments, they usually already know.

“If it comes out of the blue, it is already a red flag,” he said.