FAFSA – Computer Security Articles

Name+DOB+SSN=FAFSA Data Gold Mine

November 24, 2017 admin FAFSA, irs, tax refund fraud

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:55:03 +0000

KrebsOnSecurity has sought to call attention to online services which expose sensitive consumer data if the user knows a handful of static details about a person that are broadly for sale in the cybercrime underground, such as name, date of birth, and Social Security Number. Perhaps the most eye-opening example of this is on display at fafsa.ed.gov, the Web site set up by the U.S. Department of Education for anyone interested in applying for federal student financial aid.

Independent Krebs

Private Eye Allegedly Used Leaky Goverment Tool in Bid to Find Tax Data on Trump

May 22, 2017 admin AGI, Averlock Investigations, Diverseeducation.com, Donald J. Trump, FAFSA, irs, Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Other, S. Gina Garza, tax refund fraud, Timothy P. Camus, U.S. Attorney J. Walter Green

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Mon, 22 May 2017 20:11:27 +0000

In March 2017, KrebsOnSecurity warned that thieves who perpetrate tax refund fraud with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service were leveraging a widely-used online student loan tool to find critical data on consumers that allows them to claim huge refunds with the IRS in someone else’s name. This week, it emerged that a Louisiana-based private investigator is being charged with using the same online tool to glean tax data on then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. A story today at Diverseeducation.com points to court filings in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, in which local private eye Jordan Hamlett is accused by federal prosecutors of abusing an automated tool at the U.S. Department of Education website that is designed to make it easier for families to complete the Education Department’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) — a lengthy form that serves as the starting point for students seeking federal financial assistance to pay for college or career school.

Independent Krebs

Student Aid Tool Held Key for Tax Fraudsters

March 21, 2017 admin FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Financial Aid, Get Transcript, irs, IRS Data Retrieval Tool, Other, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Department of Education, w-2 phishing

Credit to Author: BrianKrebs| Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2017 19:07:14 +0000

Citing concerns over criminal activity and fraud, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has disabled an automated tool on its Web site that was used to help students and their families apply for federal financial aid. The removal of the tool has created unexpected hurdles for many families hoping to qualify for financial aid, but the action also eliminated a key source of data that fraudsters could use to conduct tax refund fraud. Last week, the IRS and the Department of Education said in a joint statement that they were temporarily shutting down the IRS’s Data Retrieval Tool. The service was designed to make it easier to complete the Education Department’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) — a lengthy form that serves as the starting point for students seeking federal financial assistance to pay for college or career school.