How to Avoid the "Financial Hardship Department" Email Scam - Oregon Department of Justice (2024)

FAQs

How to Avoid the "Financial Hardship Department" Email Scam - Oregon Department of Justice? ›

If you receive a phone call, email, or text message like the Financial Hardship Department scam: Do not reply to the email or call the phone number provided in the message. Do not click on any links or download any attachments provided in the email. They may contain malware or viruses that can harm your device.

The Financial Hardship Department scam is a phone or email scam that claims to extend financial relief to you, while disguised as a government agency or financial institution.

Callers claiming to be from a 'financial hardship loan center' are attempting to steal victim's information or worse, digging them deeper into debt. We have collated the following transcripts from real messages left by scammers, so subscribers know what to lookout for.

If you got a phishing email, forward it to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org . If you got a phishing text message, forward it to SPAM (7726). Report the phishing attempt to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Likewise, e-mails or messages that seem to be from the Treasury that request information or demand a fee for a release of funds from OFAC or FinCEN holds are entirely fake.

This scam works precisely as its name implies. Scammers contact individuals struggling with debt and offer aid from a government agency named the Financial Hardship Department. The aim is to extract protected information like your driver's license or Social Security Number and steal your identity.

Oregon has cash benefit programs to help people pay for things like food, child care, clothing, rent and utilities while they work toward supporting themselves. Choose a program below to see if you qualify and how to apply.

The national Do Not Call list protects landline and wireless phone numbers. You can register your numbers on the national Do Not Call list at no cost by calling 1-888-382-1222 (voice) or 1-866-290-4236 (TTY). You must call from the phone number you wish to register.

Hardship personal loans are a type of personal loan that is designed to help you overcome financial difficulties. This type of loan is generally offered by small banks and credit unions, and has lower interest rates, lower maximum loan amounts, and shorter repayment periods than standard personal loans.

How to block email spam? ›

Clicking on a link or attachment in a phishing email could download malware onto your computer or device. This malware could be in the form of ransomware, which can encrypt your files and require payment for their release, or keyloggers, which record your keystrokes in an attempt to steal your login credentials.

All U.S. Treasury checks are printed on watermarked paper. When held up to the light, the watermark reads “U.S. Treasury” from both the front and the back. Any check should be suspected as counterfeit if the check has no watermark, or the watermark is visible without holding the check up to light.

If we take money from a federal payment to pay an overdue debt that you owe, you will get a letter notifying you of the offset.

Financial hardship information is a sign next to a repayment on an individual's repayment history in their credit report to show that they have either a temporary or permanent financial hardship arrangement with a credit provider.

A hardship default occurs when a borrower fails to make payments on their debt due to a severe financial setback, such as a long-term job loss or a medical disability. A borrower becomes “delinquent” when they fall behind on their payments.