Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware 9: Avoid Identity Theft in Financial Aid

Saturdays we share tips or cautions to facilitate getting scholarship or avoiding problems

Becky searched for FAFSA in a search engine. Several options presented themselves to “Help You Complete Your FAFSA”. She selected one that was not sponsored by the US Government (the site she selected has since been shutdown). She read the instructions and entered her information. At the end of the process it asked to enter her credit card information to pay $5.00 for using the service. She hesitated, but eventually entered her credit card number. Unfortunately, the web site was a scam to both get money for the FREE Application for Federal Student Aid and to steal her identity. She spent three years fighting the consequences of the identity theft associated with this one mistake.

Reduce Your Risk of Identity Theft

Applying for student financial aid increases your risks of identity theft. You share personal information in applications, search engine profiles and other places.

Federal Student Aid shares the following tips to reduce risk of identity theft as one of the scams to avoid. They advise:

• Only use www.FAFSA.gov to complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid
• Close your browser when you finish to delete any online cookies you created
• Never share your Federal Student aid PIN with anyone “even if that person is helping you fill out the FAFSA.”
• Track and compare financial aid documents you submitted with what you received
• Never share personal information out on the phone or the Internet unless you initiated the contact
• Review the privacy information policy (we know this is a pain) for any non-government lender or provider before you give them all your personal information
• Store any document or receipt with your personal information on it in a secure location
• Keep your wallet or purse secure and protected at all times
• Immediately report lost or stolen identification to the organization that issued it
• Contact your college or the Federal Student Aid Information Center with any questions or concerns about an offer for student aid

Tuesday we review the US Department of Education’s pages on Federal Student Aid