Current and ex college students beware, Identity theft warning!

[lafever]

Ok, this is the deal, my wife is currently a college student, but before she could go to school we had to pay off an old student loan (from the 90's) that was in her maiden name. So, we got her parents to help pay off the old loan to get her back into school. That brings us back to the present where she's currently going to college right now, and she put in for a student loan at student loans.gov. She put in for a student loan to see about getting money to help pay for some of our bills since she's no longer working, and we need the loan to make up for her being a full time student.
When she goes to fill out for the loan it turns out someone already received a loan in her maiden name.
This is what the crooks did; they got a pell grant from Fed Aid and then they went and got a student loan.
The crooks received all the money through an online university who did nothing to verify the person receiving the loan.
Basically, the online university got paid off and was ok giving the crooks their portion of the funds.
So someone used her maiden name and social security number and falsified all the rest of the information including a fake email address. Everything on the loan the identity thieves put was false and yet they still got the loan.
The home street address they used doesn't even exist; the phone number had no mailbox attached to it and had a different area code. As far as the references, one of the phone numbers for a reference was to child services in another county and the other reference number doesn't even work.
All bogus information, yet fed aid and student loans still gave the crooks the money, because the online university approved the bogus loan information.
We called the police and filed a police report, a city police investigator told us that if the crime did not take place in our city then the crime was out of his jurisdiction. He did do one thing though; he went through the district attorney and forced the online university and a worldwide e-mail provider to send documents in reference to this case. My wife has not seen these as they were forwarded to the FBI.
We went to the FBI, an agent from Chicago came to our town and was real cooperative and said this scam was nation wide and went deeper than we knew. He was very helpful and then just disappeared, and we were assigned a different person who says he works for the Department of Education and thinks the online university is a saint...it went from "we'll help you" to your wife is "alleging" the stolen identity, and implied that people sell their social security numbers all the time for $5oo bucks.
So let me get this straight. If my wife is the crook why would we call the police, file a police report, go the FBI, work with the Department of Education, and give the University our address, e-mail, and phone number (after they asked for it for communication purposes, but weren't they supposed to have it already?), if we were the crooks. That would have to make us out to be the dumbest crooks on the planet. So now the same information we gave to help us is being used against us, and they want more information to further damage and cover up their (the University) guilt. They didn't come to us, we went to them! She reported the crime to law enforcement and her school before anyone even knew a crime was being committed, all because of the findings we found on studentloan.gov.
Plus, why would my wife risk being kicked out of college (which is about to happen because she has no transcript from this school but it is on her record), ruin our credit, and pay loans to two schools, all for $500? This makes no sense! So basically they are now calling my wife a thief unless she cooperates with the very online university who's committing fraud with the Fed Aid and Student loan people.
Also, we checked our credit report and low and behold we we're stuck with the bill.
Fighting with credit report agencies is like pulling teeth out of a rattlesnake.
We contacted three credit report agencies which did not have our correct address or phone number; all the information they had was fake.
Next, to clear it up with the credit people a lawyer told us we had to contact the online university who had been sending letters to a fake address that does not even exist therefore any coorespondance would have been immediately returned to sender, which means they knew all along that the information given by the crooks was fake.
So if the online university knew months in advance (because of how long it takes to complete the FAFSA, get a response from FED AID concerning the FAFSA, complete the student loan questionaire, and again get a response concerning the loan) that it was identity theft why did they not contact the police and report so, instead they accepted the money.
So we gave the online university our phone # and address at their request, for them to correspond with us. The next thing we knew, the university had gone into the system and changed the information on the federal sites to our information and then the next thing we know we're getting contacted by a collection agency to collect the bogus balance amount despite saying that no one attended their school and then went on to refund the money to the crooks.
Basically, the online university (the only school on the fraudulent loan and FAFSA) went into the FED AID and student loan system and changed her maiden name to her current name and told us the only way to straighten this mess out was for my wife to send a copy of her drivers license, utility bill, her signature, and affidavit; then basically they would have all the information they need to cover their ass.
Since they have already used our phone number and address that we gave them willingly to help them out and it was used as information against us, we will not give any further information to the online university. This puts us in a catch-22 with the FED AID people and her school who wants us to clear it up so she can continue her studies. Basically, they have us by the nuts and there is nothing we can do safely, except, go to court, which no lawyer will take unless more people with this problem come forward, yet no one is telling us the other people that this has happened to. However, the FBI, the police, the financial aid people at my wife's school say this happens all the time, yet they will not give us information on the other victim so we can pull together on a fraud case with the online university.
Next, the online university somehow attached the student loans to her current college through fed loans, and have said that since no one ever went to class they "refunded" the money to the person or person who stole her identity. Then they created a bogus balance and turned this over to a collection agency, who was given the original false address with my phone number.
No local newspaper, news station, police, FBI, Department of Education, lawyer, or anyone will help us.
They all think that the online university is a reputable one hence someone has committed the perfect crime.
Lucky for us!

 

[DJR88]

As a current college student, thanks for the heads up. Fortunately, (knock on wood) no one has gotten money through my account yet and the university I go to is an established and reputable university (not some stupid online only university).

 

[D_LeonardoDeCrapio]

It's been reported on of schools that go to elaborate lengths just to secure federal aid moneys...

Here is an example --- taking "Prospective students" hostage, force them in a room without their proper paperwork (Money, ID's, Credit, and debit cards even phones) for a quote on qoute "Security Threats" and make them sign a "negotiable" deal all in an elaborate attempt to enroll them in the Online program and take money which can vary between students as low as $200 - $2000 in the same class[.

Only then will students have any knowledge of "scholarships" (LOANS) they've "recieved" (taken out) after the prigram is complete with interest rates as high as 15 or more percent.

(Edit: Comment - I don't like everything that I wrote, but it's happened to plenty of people at "good" universities, it's not reported on, and your best bet would be to take this to a site geared toward college students)

 

[lafever]

This is what an Attorney sent us, they don't want to go after the online University but instead go after the consumer reporting agencies. What the Fxxx is up with that?

CONTINGENCY FEE AGREEMENT AND RETAINER​

1. The undersighned client, xxxxx xxxxxxx, hereby retains the law firm of xxxxx, xxxxxx x xxxxxxxxxx, xxx (attorneys) to prosecute and to recover all damages and compensation to which Client may be entitled, as well as to compromise and/or settle all claims against all potential third parties arising out of damages sustained as a result of identity theft, fraud and credit reporting issues with consumer reporting agencies.​

2. For and in consideration of the legal services to be rendered by said attorneys, client agrees to pay and hereby assigns to attorneys, a present interest in the case in the amount of fifty percent (50%) of any net settlement proceeds obtained prior to filing suit or instituting arbitration proceedings. If suit is filed or arbitration is istituted, Client agrees to pay and hereby assigns to attorneys, a present interest in the case in the amount of fifty percent (50%) of any resolution whether obtained by settlement or by verdict.​

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$225 per hour for xxxxx x. xxxxxx $350 per hour for Senior Attorney​

$100 per hour for Paralegal time Photocopies at $0.25 per page​

Faxes at $0.25 per page received or sent Long Distance Telephone calls at actual cost​

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Consumer cases are unique as they often provide a consumer only a small damage claim while also allowing the recovery of the consumer's attorney's fees. As a result, the amount of attorney's fees owed by the defendant are paid to your attorney may often far exceed the amount of damages you are entitled to recover.​

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[Rikter8]

I would contact CNN or a large Media house and report what has happened, and send a copy to your state representative.

Try them all. Anderson Cooper, etc.

Hopefully that will help