Avoiding Student Aid Scams 
Avoid student aid scams and protect your identity while searching for scholarships, filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid FAFSA form, managing your loans, and giving information to schools and lenders. FREE help is available. Save Your Money Protect Your Identity Beware of Student Loan Debt Relief Companies Report Fraud and Identity Theft 

You Don t Have to Pay for Help Finding Money for College or Career School 
Commercial financial aid advice services can cost well over $1,000. Of course , simply charging for help or information that s available for free elsewhere is not fraudulent. However , if a company doesn t deliver what it promises , it s scamming you. If you re unsure whether to pay a company for help finding financial aid , stop and think for a minute : What s being offered? Is the service going to be worth your money? Do the claims seem too good to be true? You might have heard or seen these claims at seminars, over the phone from telemarketers, or online : Buy now or miss this opportunity. Don t give in to pressure tactics. Remember , the opportunity is a chance to pay for information you could find yourself for free. We guarantee you ll get aid. A company could claim it fulfilled its promise if you were offered student loans or a $200 scholarship. Is that worth a fee of $1,000 or more? I ve got aid for you ; give me your credit card or bank account number. Never give out a credit card or bank account number unless you know the organization you are giving it to is legitimate. You could be putting yourself at risk of identity theft. Here is some free information about ways to pay for college. 

You Don t Have to Pay for Help With the FAFSA Form 
Several websites offer help filling out the FAFSA form for a fee. These sites are not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education ED. We urge you not to pay these sites for assistance that you can get for free elsewhere. The official FAFSA form 

user: help me with student info being stolen, cause I'm worried

assistant: Would you like to know how to reduce your risk of identity theft when applying for financial aid?

user: not for financial aid, all my info you have

assistant: You can protect yourself by having a strong password on your FSA ID.  Do you need help changing your FSA ID password?

user: no I know how

assistant: Would you like to know how the Department of Education keeps your information safe?

user: yes that'll help with my concerns

assistant: We value the privacy of your personal information. The information you share with us goes through a process called encryption. Encryption uses a mathematical formula to scramble your data into a format that is unreadable to a hacker.  

user: what do I do if I forgot my security questions to change my password?

assistant: You will need to go through the FSA ID Account Recovery process. You’ll send in copies of identification, and the email address on your account will reset to one you can access. 

user: can we get help with the forms if we have problems?

assistant: Yes, several websites offer help filling out the FAFSA form for a fee, but we urge you not to pay these sites for assistance that you can get for free elsewhere