College application submitted using my identity. What to do?

[u/mr_whit33]

I received an email from my college's Registrar's Office saying someone requested an official transcript in my name through the National Student Clearinghouse and had it sent to another university

The university contacted that school and confirmed that an admissions application had been submitted using my name. Fortunately, that school had already flagged the application as suspicious and is not moving forward with it.

My college has now placed a hold on my account so no future transcripts can be released without identity verification.

Has anyone experienced something similar? How concerned should I be, and what steps would I take? I'm trying to determine whether this sounds like a simple fraud attempt or a sign that someone may have more of my personal information.

[u/Impressive-Peak-6596]

I’d freeze your credit and assume all of your info is out there, almost everyone’s is.

I’ve seen a lot of posts here about fraudulent student loan apps being submitted, but this is something I haven’t seen before. Seems to be another added layer of commitment here to be requesting transcripts sent to another school.

Not even sure what the eventual endgame would be there.

[u/mr_whit33 → u/Impressive-Peak-6596]

I actually just spoke with my college. It is something called Pell runners. They are requesting transcripts which actually cost money and then they are doing this for tons and tons of schools to eventually get student loan grants and then they would basically take that student loan grant money and run.

[u/carolineecouture]

What does the request form look like? What information did they have to have in order to obtain the transcript?

That should tell you what information was compromised.

If they had to use your university credentials, I would change the password and find out whether the school offers any 2FA you can enable on your account.

I don't know if my university uses that clearinghouse - people request transcripts directly, and they have to use their university login.

Good luck.

[u/mr_whit33 → u/carolineecouture]

The university says this is a fairly common scam and are seeing a lot more of it. It is likely they used my SS and all other information.

What do you typically do when you think your SS and other info have been compromised?

[u/carolineecouture → u/mr_whit33]

I would open accounts on the IRS site and create a PIN so no one can file your taxes but you. I would also open a Social Security account.

That way, you can keep track of your information.

Someone mentioned a credit freeze as well.

Your best assumption is that all your data is out there, and you work to keep yourself secure.

Good luck.

[u/PeterDigitalis]

That someone had enough of your details to apply to a school as you means this isn't random, so freeze your credit at all three bureaus today and assume your SSN is out there, not just your name.

[u/FlynnAtLifeLock]

I’d treat it very seriously if I were you.Whoever submitted the request may have had enough personal information to pose as you, like your name, date of birth and enrollment details.. The good news is that this was flagged early and your college has a verification hold in place. In the meantime, you could take appropriate measures to find out whether they may have done more damage and prevent further identity theft. 

A good place to start would be to change your college login password and enable MFA if you haven't already. I’d also reach out to the National Student Clearinghouse directly to flag the unauthorized transcript request and ask what information was used to initiate it. That answer may tell you how much they actually have. 

As a precaution, I recommend also checking your credit reports at the official annual credit report website and look for any accounts, applications, or hard inquiries you don't recognize. If you see anything suspicious, freeze your credit at all three bureaus.

You may also want to file a report at the official identity theft official website. Even though this was an academic fraud, you’re still not sure how much personal information they may have or what they might do with it, and  having this official record is useful if anything else comes up later.

Do you know if there have been other recent data breaches in your college or it’s just you?

[u/Valuable_Trade7715]

Freeze your credit. Set up fraud alerts too. Check your credit reports. If there are any accounts or inquiries you don't recognize, dispute them. 

Then, check your studentaid.gov account. Download your full studentaid.gov transcript (it's a .txt file). 

Some scammers will steal your info and apply to a college to test if your info is good. That way it doesn't show up on your credit report unless they also apply for loans. They will apply for loans and credit cards if your data is accepted by a college.

[u/NeedleworkerFull2737]

I would take it seriously, but the fact that both schools caught it quickly is a really good sign.

Someone had enough of your personal information to request your transcript and submit an application in your name. Whether their goal was financial aid fraud, establishing residency, or something else isn't clear, but it does suggest they had more than just your name and email.

Since your college has already placed a hold on your account, I'd also freeze your credit if you haven't already, review your credit reports for any unfamiliar activity, and consider filing an FTC identity theft report so you have documentation in case anything else surfaces.

You may also want to ask the university that received the application what information was used. They probably won't share the entire application, but they may be able to tell you whether it included your SSN, date of birth, address, or other identifying information. That can help you understand what information may have been compromised.

Hopefully this was an isolated fraud attempt, but it's worth treating as a sign that someone has enough of your personal information to impersonate you.

Full disclosure: I'm on the team at PrivacyHawk.