Student Loan Information
I know that it is important to keep your social security number private. It has always bothered me that many student loan companies use your number as your account number. I always make sure I shred any paperwork with my number on it, but it would seem in some cases that this is out of my hands. My husband and I combined our loans, and we keep getting letters from companies offering us a better deal on our interest rate. It bothers me that they can so easily get our student loan information, and that our social security numbers are appearing on what we consider to be junk mail.
Some companies have gotten smarter, and they now send bills with the last four digits of my social security number hidden. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. These other companies are still getting their hands on my private student loan information in order to send me offers, and I don’t like that just anyone can access my information. I have never authorized these people to go poking through my business, and I don’t know why it is legal for them to do so.
Whatever is going on, I know that I have to shred every single things that contains my student loan information. I don’t want anyone to get my number, and I certainly know that this is one of the things that someone needs to steal my identity. I try to tell my husband how important it is to protect our student loan information, but he is not as interested as I would like him to be. He’s one of these people who you see on television saying, "I never thought it would happen to me."
If you are getting statements from your lenders, and they are printing out all of your student loan information on everything they send you, it might be a good idea to call them if there is any way they could do things differently. Ask if you can change your account number to something that is not your social security number, or ask if them if they can X some of it out when they print out your bills and statements. Though these companies are becoming more aware of how important it is to protect your student loan information, many of them are far from perfect. Let them know how you feel.
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