Students who have experienced identity theft or fraud should take the following steps to protect themselves.
- File a police report with local law enforcement.
- Report the fraud to the US Department of Education, Office of Inspector General:
- Hotline: 1 (800) MIS-USED
- Website: www.ed.gov/misused
- Write:
Office of Inspector General
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-1510
- Contact all credit bureaus and report your identity as stolen.
Credit Bureau Website Phone Equifax equifax.com 1 (800) 525-6285 Experian experian.com 1 (888) 397-3742 Transunion transunion.com 1 (800) 680-7289 - Consult the Federal Trade Commission website on identity theft for more information.
- Report the fraud to your loan servicer. Find your loan servicer.
- Contact the Department of Education Federal Student Ombudsman at 1 (877) 557-2575.