Data Breach: Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid
Here is a big heads-up for anyone who attended college in Louisiana or was a Louisiana resident when they completed the FAFSA. The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid has disclosed that their data storage contractor (Iron Mountain) had lost backup data media in mid-September which included names and social security numbers. According to LOSFA, the following persons could be affected:
- Anyone who has a Louisiana College Savings account (START Saving Program).
- Any resident of the state of Louisiana who has completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
- Anyone who has completed a FAFSA and included a Louisiana postsecondary institution as an institution to which FAFSA data should be sent.
- Anyone who has applied for or received a Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) Scholarship.
- Anyone who has applied for or who has received student financial aid in the State of Louisiana.
For more information on the breach, the official notice from LOFSA can be found here.
To search the database to determine if your information was included, check here.
on October 16th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I already entered in my info and sure enough, I was affected by the data breach. The instructions were for me to call the 3 credit agencies and report a fraud threat. I’m then immediately entitled to a free credit report from each to check for suspicious activity. I’m also entitled to one free credit report a year to continue monitoring it. There also was an option of a credit freeze which I’m not familiar with.