This morning I woke up to two emails in my inbox from the US Dept of Education, Federal Student Aid, one reporting I had created an account, the other an email validation/action required notice.
I never signed up for this account!
It seems someone with my same first and last name living in Ohio (I live in Nebraska) did and he incorrectly used my email address instead of his.
So I simply attempted to log in but because I did not know his password, I couldn't. No problem. I simply clicked the forgot password link and in no time, they sent me a reset password link. So I changed the password and was in.
Now comes the bad part. I clicked on the personal information link and there was this person's Social Security Number, DOB, full name, address, and primary and secondary phone numbers!
Then I click on his "Security Challenge Q&A" information and for Question 1, there was his mother's maiden name. Q2, his wife's name. Q3, his wedding anniversary. Q4, first child's name! I had everything and more to create all sorts of charge accounts to destroy his credit, empty his bank accounts, and steal his identity.
He's lucky I'm an honest man!
Most forms for new accounts make you enter your email address twice to make sure it is correct. Do NOT use copy and paste! I suspect he entered it wrong initially, then just copied the wrong address after that! :shame2: Verify and verify again - ESPECIALLY if the form wants extremely sensitive, personally identifiable information like your Social Security Number, DOB, etc.
I never signed up for this account!
It seems someone with my same first and last name living in Ohio (I live in Nebraska) did and he incorrectly used my email address instead of his.
So I simply attempted to log in but because I did not know his password, I couldn't. No problem. I simply clicked the forgot password link and in no time, they sent me a reset password link. So I changed the password and was in.
Now comes the bad part. I clicked on the personal information link and there was this person's Social Security Number, DOB, full name, address, and primary and secondary phone numbers!
Then I click on his "Security Challenge Q&A" information and for Question 1, there was his mother's maiden name. Q2, his wife's name. Q3, his wedding anniversary. Q4, first child's name! I had everything and more to create all sorts of charge accounts to destroy his credit, empty his bank accounts, and steal his identity. He's lucky I'm an honest man!
Most forms for new accounts make you enter your email address twice to make sure it is correct. Do NOT use copy and paste! I suspect he entered it wrong initially, then just copied the wrong address after that! :shame2: Verify and verify again - ESPECIALLY if the form wants extremely sensitive, personally identifiable information like your Social Security Number, DOB, etc.