Student debt relief companies contact thousands of Americans, promising to help them secure loan forgiveness or reduce their payments for a fee. These companies may reach out via telephone, mail, email, text message, or social media. They may offer to review your loan files, submit a student loan consolidation or loan forgiveness application on your behalf, or negotiate with your lenders. They may seem legitimate by having accurate information about you or your loan balance. They may even claim they are affiliated with the federal government. The law, however, prohibits these companies from acting in unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive ways.