With student loan grace period over, an artist shows borrowers’ burdens and an expert has a scam warning

CHICAGO (CBS) — A major student loan deadline has passed—ending years of pandemic-related pause on payments.
So what does that mean for the roughly 43 million Americans with student loan debt? Experts Thursday night had some good news—and a word of warning.
Borrowers who have not enrolled in the Biden administration’s Fresh Start program by now—and miss payments moving forward—could be subject to negative credit reporting, wage garnishments, and other collection attempts.
Around 8 million student loan borrowers have also enrolled in the SAVE plan, the newest income-driven repayment plan that extended the eligibility for borrowers to have affordable monthly student loan payments. However, this plan has been on hold due to legal challenges.
Meanwhile, an art installation at the Chicago Cultural Center seeks to give viewers an idea of how much even one average borrower’s student loan debt amounts to. “Forever in Your Debt” features 1,065 bowls lined up in rows on the floor—925 to hold the average borrower’s student loan debt of $37,000, and 140 more to hold two years’ worth of accrued interest on that amount.
“I did quick math on my math on my phone and figured out what my own full total would look like, correlating to my debt,” said artist kelli rae adams. “I’ve actually even had people—who themselves don’t have debt—be moved to tears upon seeing it, because I think it just manages to translate the sheer magnitude of what this burden is.”
Adams wrapped up her Chicago installation’s stint on the same day a Biden student loan forgiveness plan cleared another hurdle.
A federal judge in Georgia made a ruling that would allow for the Biden administration’s sweeping relief that affects tens of millions of American borrowers—pending another potential challenge in Missouri.
But with that good news comes more bad news—scams.
“Whenever there is something in the news that scammers feel that they can take advantage of, they will exploit it,” said Governors State University professor Bill Kresse, also known as Professor Fraud.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued a warning on Thursday about a new scam targeting student loan borrowers. The scam offers fake promises of lower monthly payments or loan forgiveness with immediate results and demands upfront fees.
Scammers have contacted borrowers by phone, text, email, and postal mail with a falsified claim to have ties to government agencies, including the Department of Education.  
Kresse said the scams all have obvious red flags.
“Most enterprises that are legitimate that can help you out of loan situations or timeshares or whatever will not ask for an upfront fee,” he said. “So that in my mind stood out as a big red flag.”
Kresse said there are legitimate programs to help borrowers.
The Illinois Attorney General’s office warns that people should be wary of anyone promising immediate forgiveness or cancellations, anyone asking a borrower to sign a power of attorney form, requesting their login credentials, or pressuring them to sign up immediately.