LOUSIANA SECURITY BREACH!

[GermDawg]

If you have not heard the private contractor for Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance has lost a large amount of private files that may contain data that could be used for fraud for anyone who has attended college or has a child in college. Check the following website to see if your information is at risk if so it will have instructions on what to do to protect yourself.

http://www.osfa.state.la.us/NOTICE.htm

[CChandler]

If you have not heard the private contractor for Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance has lost a large amount of private files that may contain data that could be used for fraud for anyone who has attended college or has a child in college. Check the following website to see if your information is at risk if so it will have instructions on what to do to protect yourself.

http://www.osfa.state.la.us/NOTICE.htm

Of course I'm apparantly affected.

But, hey, free credit report.

[JuBru]

[dawgette]

my name was on there as well. hassle.

[HoDo-Tech70]

ATTENTION PARENTS of college age students --- Immediate Attention Recommended

I checked the website and, unfortunately, the personal identifying information for my wife and I is at risk. We've been out of college for many years but we are the parents of a college student who filled out a FAFSA because it was required for TOPS. My student, of course, appears on the list as at risk, but he has little credit history so creditors will not grant much credit to a potential ID thief.

Parents, please check and, if you are at risk, follow the recommendations on the website. as your information in the wrong hands could cause you trouble. I have experience with ID theft so take it from me, take precautions. It's quite irritating to have to take these precautions but you could save yourself months and months of problems. Information on the parents who have more established credit would prove more valuable to an ID thief.

Be sure to report the risk to all 3 credit reporting agencies. For more information on how to protect yourself, go to the Federal Trade Commission website - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

[RhythmDawg]

I was on there, but it said my records had no financial information listed.

[HoDo-Tech70]

I was on there, but it said my records had no financial information listed.

This statement means that your bank account numbers, credit card account numbers, etc. were not shown on the misplaced information. That kind of information was not required by the FAFSA application. However, your name, your date of birth, and your SSN in the hands of a savvy ID thief would allow him to get new lines of credit in your name using your credit history. All this identifying information was on the FAFSA application. Please take the precautions following this strongly worded statement that appears on the website - At this time, we strongly suggest you take the following steps:

The missing information may never find its way into the hands of an ID thief but you can never be certain. Trust me on this - take the recommended precautions.