If you've been receiving increased data-breach notices from companies, healthcare networks or even government agencies, you are not alone. In a study published by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), there were 2,365 breach incidents reported in 2023 alone – impacting over 350 million total victims. If that’s not staggering enough, there have already been 1,571 data breach incidents reported in the first half of 2024. That’s a 14% increase compared to the same period last year. The need for cyber security protection is at an all-time high and internet users should take all precautions when sharing sensitive information.
The FAFSA application is a particularly vulnerable opportunity for scammers to lure in potential victims with around 17.5 million FAFSA applications submitted each cycle, all containing highly sensitive personal and financial information.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) employs several security measures protecting the personal information of applicants. Here’s an overview of the key measures:
These measures are designed to safeguard your personal and financial information throughout the application process, but it doesn’t stop there. You can take additional steps on your own to safeguard sensitive information. Here’s a list of suggested measures from the Department of Education:
Because of the various security measures in place, the level of risk to you and your personal data from filling out and submitting a FAFSA form is relatively low. However, the FAFSA is not ironclad. In 2016, scammers used a tax data retrieval tool integrated within the FAFSA application to access applicants tax information. As a result, thousands of fraudulent returns were filed with stolen tax refunds amounting to almost $30 million.
When sharing any personal or financial information online, it’s best to take all the steps possible to protect that information. If something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. If you do fall victim to a scam or data breach, immediately contact all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) to freeze your credit and sign up for a credit monitoring service. Monitoring services are often provided by companies who experienced a data breach as a free service for victims.
When it comes to cybersecurity, there is no sure-fire way to avoid all risks, but utilizing varying degrees of protection such as those used for the FAFSA and taking additional steps on your own will dramatically reduce your chances of becoming a victim.
Sources:
2023 Annual Report | IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCE CENTER
ITRC 2024 Data Breach Analysis | IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCE CENTER
FAFSA Data Breach & Your Taxes | H&R Block blog
Privacy Policy for StudentAid.gov | U.S. Department of Education
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