Financial Wellness

Follow the tips below to reduce your risk of identity theft when applying for Financial Aid:

• Use fafsa.gov when filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form; when you exit the FAFSA site, close the browser so cookies from the session will be deleted automatically.
• Don’t give your FSA ID to anyone, even if that person is helping you fill out the FAFSA form.
• Review your financial aid offers; keep track of the amounts of financial aid you applied for and the amounts you received.
• Keep receipts and documents (for example, credit applications or offers, checks and bank statements) with personal information in a safe place, and shred them when you are finished with them.
• Beware of student loan repayment scams that request up front costs or fees.
• Never give personal information over the phone or internet unless you made the contact. If you have questions about your financial aid, ask your college or contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at customerservice@studentaid.gov or 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).
• Immediately report all lost or stolen identification to the issuer (e.g., the credit card company or your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles) and to the police, if appropriate.
• Watch the Financial Literacy (Money Matters) Web Recording: Identity theft and Cyber security

If you suspect that your personal information has been stolen, act quickly. Contact the credit reporting agencies and “freeze” your account so nobody else can open new credit accounts in your name. You will find tips and credit agency contact information at the Federal Trade Commission’s website listed below.

These federal websites offer information on reporting and repairing identity theft:

• U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG) Hotline (for cases in which ED funds are involved) 
• Federal Trade Commission or by phone at 1-877-438-4338
• Social Security Administration 
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

If you suspect that your personal information has been stolen to file fraudulent federal income tax returns please report it to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at: https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central

AZ Attorney General's Identity Theft page tips:

• File an Identity Theft Report with the Federal Trade Commission to obtain an Identity Theft Affidavit.
• File a report with your local county or city law enforcement agency. You do not need to know the name of the person who used your identity. You can show the police the information you have such as debt collection letters or other indications that you are the victim of this crime.
• Notify all three credit reporting agencies and every debt collector that has contacted you.

You can also visit IdentityTheft.gov to learn more.

The three nationwide credit bureaus have a centralized website, toll-free telephone number, and mailing address so you can order your free annual report in one place. Do not contact the three nationwide credit bureaus individually. These are the only ways to order your free credit report:

• Visit AnnualCreditReport.com
• Call 1-877-322-8228
• Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Only one website — AnnualCreditReport.com — is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law.

How often can I get a free report?

Federal law gives you the right to get a free copy of your credit report every 12 months. Through December 2023, everyone in the U.S. can get a free credit report each week from all three nationwide credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Also, everyone in the U.S. can get six free credit reports per year through 2026 by visiting the Equifax website or by calling 1-866-349-5191. That’s in addition to the one free Equifax report (plus your Experian and TransUnion reports) you can get at AnnualCreditReport.com.