Page 16 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2025 Make a difference as a hospice volunteer! Online training to begin June 2 C are Dimensions, the region’s largest provider of hospice care, will hold online training classes for those interested in becoming volunteers for the nonprofi t organization. You can make a diff erence in a patient’s life by: • Engaging in a shared interest or hobby • Helping with letter-writing or life review • Visiting with your approved dog • Reading to a patient Care Dimensions Pet Therapy Volunteer Brian Cafarella of Rockport, Mass., and Patriot as Santa Paws (Courtesy photo) • Listening and providing a supportive, comforting presence Our volunteers visit patients in their homes, in facilities and at our hospice houses. If patient visits are not the right fi t, you can volunteer in other ways, such as providing administrative offi ce support or making check-in phone calls to current patients or bereaved family members. Training will be held via Zoom on Mondays and Wednesdays, 9–11 a.m., June 2–18 (register by May 23). For more information or to register, please go to www. CareDimensions.org/Volunteers or email VolunteerInfo@ CareDimensions.org. Please visit www.CareDimensions.org to learn more about Care Dimensions. BBB Tip: Student loan forgiveness T raditionally, this is the time of year when aspiring graduates plan their walk across the stage to claim their diplomas. Shortly after that, the student loan repayment process begins. In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Education announced that there would be no mass loan forgiveness under the new Trump administration. Instead, starting May 5, 2025, the government will resume involuntary debt collection, targeting over fi ve million borrowers in default. This ends the pandemic-era pause that halted collections since March 2020. Aff ected borrowers will receive email notifi cations within the next two weeks encouraging them to consider repayment options. Wage garnishment, tax refund seizures and benefi t withholding will begin after a 30-day notice. Another four million borrowers are at risk of default in the coming months. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) encourages graduates to carefully research trustworthy sources related to federal repayment plans before giving personal information. Watch out for companies promising to reduce debt by lowering payments through enrollment in student loan forgiveness or other programs. They might also falsely promise to apply monthly payments to consumers’ student loans and to improve credit scores — all you have to do is pay a small fee so they can negotiate with the lender on your behalf. In another version, dishonest collectors claim they can save money by consolidating loans if a minimal fee is paid. Please keep your personal information private and never give it to an unsolicited source. Due to the uptick in student loan forgiveness scams, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent more than $4.1 million in refunds to borrowers who lost money to scammers. Luckily, the U.S. Department of Education has provided borrowers with the following Do’s and Don’ts as they apply for student loan debt relief. DO create an FSA ID at StudentAid.gov. You will not need it for the debt relief application, but having an FSA ID allows easy access to accurate information on your loan. It also makes sure FSA can contact you directly, helping you equip yourself against scammers trying to contact you. Log in to your current account on StudentAid.gov and keep your contact info updated. DO make sure your loan servicer has your most current contact information. If you don’t know who your servicer is, you can log in to StudentAid. gov and see your servicer (s) in your account. DO report scammers to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting reportfraud.ftc.gov. DON’T pay anyone who contacts you with promises of debt relief or loan forgiveness. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY ANYONE TO OBTAIN DEBT RELIEF. The application will be free and easy to use when it opens in October. DON’T reveal your FSA ID, account information or password to anyone who contacts you. The Department of Education and your federal student loan servicer will never call or email you asking for this information. DON’T ever give personal or fi nancial information to an unfamiliar caller. When in doubt, hang up and call your student loan servicer directly. You can fi nd your federal student loan servicer’s contact information at Studentaid.gov/manageloans/repayment/servicers. DON’T refinance your federal student loans unless you know the risks. If you refi nance federal student loans eligiyourself from student loan scammers How to protect • Research the lender. Visit BBB. org to read business profi les and check out companies before working with them. The FTC has consumer education related to student loan debt relief scams. • Report it. If you have been a victim of a suspected scam, report it at BBB.org/ScamTracker. • Empty promises lead to an empty wallet and more debt. Only scammers promise fast loan forgiveness. They often pretend to be affi liated with the government and promise loan forgiveness for a fee. Never pay a fee upfront for help and never share sensitive information, such as your FSA ID. • Find a reliable source. Consumers can apply for loan deferments, forbearance, repayment and forgiveness, or discharge programs directly through the U.S. Department of Education or their loan servicer at no cost and do not require a third party. For more information visit StudentAid.gov for federal student loan repayment options. Student loans can be forgiven only under specifi c circumstances, so contact your lender directly to see if any options are available to you. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. A company claiming it can erase student loan debt in minutes is not honest. This type of scheme is similar to a government impostor scam; watch for the warning signs. Read more on BBB.org about government impostor scams or the report released by the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust. Check out the BBB Scam Tips Resource Page for more tips on avoiding scams — https://www. bbb.org/all/scamtips. If you’ve spotted a student loan forgiveness scam (whether or not you’ve lost money), report it to BBB.org/ScamTracker. Your report can help others avoid falling victim to scams. ble for debt relief into private loans, you will lose out on the one-time debt relief and fl exible repayment plans for federal loans.
17 Publizr Home