<p>say my identity gets stolen and some dude gets 50 credit cards and racks up debt and my credit rating goes down...assume this happens way before i apply for financial aid</p>
<p>how will this affect colleges' decisions regarding financial aid (for me)? what about loans?</p>
<p>(assume that nobody can do anything about my credit once i find out)</p>
<p>Wow. A hypothetical. You’re asking for a friend, right?</p>
<p>Colleges don’t care about your credit rating. It has no direct impact on financial aid. They don’t care about your credit card debt. Income and assets, and the income and assets of your parents, is what counts.</p>
<p>(BTW-- you’re not liable for credit charges racked up on your credit card by unauthorized persons, so long as you let the credit card company know that the card or card number has been stolen. But don’t try to play off your own charges that way, or you’ll end up in jail)</p>
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<p>also, those credit cards would not be mine…</p>
<p>hello? lol</p>
<p>Immediately call all three credit bureaus and put a freeze on your account. Inform them of the fraud, and they will forward you to their fraud department. Then, call all the credit card companies and tell them of the fraud. They will transfer you to their fraud department.</p>
<p>It will take some time to repair your credit, but you need to start by stopping the damage. As the credit bureau / credit card correct each card, your score will increase. It will probably take several months to completely clear your record.</p>
<p>But if ID thief takes out student loans in your name and defaults, that will probably haunt you a lot longer!! Btw, a police report is also a good idea and may be required by some card issuers. I’ve been there recently…not fun, as it involved my debit card data being stolen. I never use my debit card at stores anymore - easier to dispute credit charges than to get money put back in your bank account.</p>
<p>But OP’s question was how it would affect his financial aid. It won’t.</p>
<p>Unless he’s trying to get private loans or thief took gov’t loans in his name already!</p>
<p>^well that’s part of my concern: what if the thief uses my info to take out some gnarly loans and just decides not to repay them?</p>