No, a TikTok trick won't help to erase US student loan debt

TikTok videos, some with tens of thousands of views, are claiming that borrowers can have all their student loans erased by following a few simple steps.

- JENNY GROSS

"I just got approved today, and I don’t really know what approved means," one TikToker says in a video posted in April. She claimed that she disputed the line on her credit report that referred to her student debt and had it removed from the credit report. “Does that mean I'm not going to have to make payments?” she says.

The answer is clear, experts say: No.

Left unpaid, experts warn, these loans can inflict severe long-term financial damage. Even though parts of the federal student loan system are in flux, borrowers are still on the hook for US student loans, even if some have them wiped from credit reports by disputing them.

Here’s what to know:

WHAT THE VIDEOS SAY

One TikTok video that has racked up more than 200,000 views begins, “This is how to delete your student loans.”

Some videos claim that because the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration’s federal cost-cutting initiative, gained access to student loan data, student borrowers can file a complaint about violation of privacy rights (under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as Ferpa) and have their student debt erased.

Other videos state that student loan borrowers can erase their debt merely by disputing it on their credit reports, which usually make reference to the loans.