<p>Before I posted this question on this website, I had already replied and said that I do not attend GVSU and that I never signed up for classes. The person emailed me back saying that I do not have a federal perkin loan with them and that they are not sure how it happened and that it was an error.</p>
<p>since I did email them, and if they were phishing, what exactly did they get from me responding? Also, how far should I go with this? Should I try contacting a federal offical with FAFSA?</p>
<p>I would take a wait-and-see attitude. There could have been someone with a name similar to yours, or some such thing. If you don’t hear any more, then the problem was fixed. If you get more emails, or actual paper, then you can take further steps. As long as you didn’t click on links that were in the email, you should be okay as far as phishing scams. If you have Semantec or other Security Software, I would run a scan just in case.</p>
<p>I only scanned the plethora of responses to your post, but, before you procede any further , I would strongly recommend that you review your official/actual loan record at [National</a> Student Loan Data System for Students](<a href=“http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/]National”>http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/). This is the National Student Loan Database and will have record of all federal loans (Stafford, PLUS, Perkins) for which you are responsible. Accessing the site does require that you know your federal PIN, but, if you have forgotten, you can easily have your PIN # displayed in real time by going to [The</a> PIN Web Site - Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.pin.ed.gov%5DThe”>http://www.pin.ed.gov), selecting “Request a Duplicate Pin”, and then answering your challenge question (case sensitive, beware). </p>
<p>If you find that you are being held responsible for a Perkins Loan for a school that you did not attend, it is likely because the offending school is either unscrupulous or lacks the administrative capability to know if students that have registered are actually attending. Or, it could be a case of identity fraud. If I were in your shoes, I would first contact the school, and, if I did not receive a satisfactory, competent and timely response, I would contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudmen @ 1-800-433-3243. What I would not do is ignore this, because if you are being held responsible for a loan and do not resolve this issue, it could become a nightmare if it defaults (more so than it already is).</p>
<p>OP, GVSU’s computer system with FA is totally whacked, IMHO. My son was never anything more than an applicant there (but had been dual enrolled in HS), and we kept getting financial aid reports, then fafsa requests, etc. etc. even though we TOLD them he’d accepted another offer at UMICH.</p>
<p>Speak assertively with someone in the department and ask that it be escalated if you do not get satisfaction. They are a reputable school, there’s no spam issue, but in my opinion, their records system is a bit out of whack.</p>
<p>The phishing would not be on GVSU’s end … it would be someone else outside the school. Unscrupulous people get their info from all sorts of places.</p>
<p>I second the visit to NSLDS. Check your aid. If there is anything listed that should not be there, immediately contact the Director of Financial Aid at GVSU. If nothing is there, then you don’t have anything to worry about. Just to be sure, though, you can contact the BUSINESS OFFICE (not the finaid office) at GVSU and ask to talk to the person who handles Perkins loans. He/she can look to see if there is any record of a Perkins loan disbursement for you at GVSU.</p>
<p>kmcmom, it is not uncommon for students to get information from a school even if they inform them they are not going there. The finaid office processes every FAFSA that comes their way, because there is no way to know for sure if a student might end up coming to school. You can either inform the aid office directly (admissions is not going to tell finaid at a large school) or ignore the requests.</p>
<p>I want to use this opportunity to point out something that I saw happen more than once … if you ever enroll in classes at a school but then decide not to attend, it is extremely important that you formally drop your classes. Just telling someone at the school that you changed your mind is not enough. When you enroll in classes, you are committing to them. You have to drop them through the registration system. If you do not, you will end up owing the school, because they will expect you to pay for the courses in which you are enrolled.</p>
<p>Fwiw:<br>
[Collections</a> - Perkins Loan Department - Grand Valley State University](<a href=“Perkins Loan Department - Grand Valley State University”>Perkins Loan Department - Grand Valley State University)</p>
<p>Can we assume these are the people you spoke with?</p>
<p>So, it sounds like a school error is a possibility? I don’t think it’s a matter of wait or asurance there was no loan, but actively ensuring the mistake did not land in a collections agency (the school should have routine contact channels with the agency.) Or if, by error, it did, that the school pulls it back from them, cancels the collection and verfies the action, to your satisfaction.</p>
<p>OP, have you contacted the school yet? I am really curious about this and am interested in finding out what actually happened.</p>
<p>Before I posted this question on this website, I had already replied and said that I do not attend GVSU and that I never signed up for classes. The person emailed me back saying that I do not have a federal perkin loan with them and that they are not sure how it happened and that it was an error.</p>
<p>When you say that you “already replied”…what do you mean? Do you mean that you hit “reply” on the email and replied? Or did you go to the GVSU real website and get a FA contact phone number and call them? </p>
<p>If you “reply” on the email, who knows who you actually talked to.</p>
<p>I talked to them, and they said they do not know why it happened</p>
<p>Have you gone to [National</a> Student Loan Data System for Students](<a href=“http://www.nslds.ed.gov%5DNational”>http://www.nslds.ed.gov) to make sure you do not have any loans in your name that you did not sign for? That is a really, really important step you need to take … just to be sure that all is well.</p>