A company that guarantees federal student loans said Friday that personal data on about 3.3 million people nationwide has been stolen from its headquarters in Minnesota.
Educational Credit Management Corp. said the data included names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth of borrowers, but no financial or bank account information.
The data was on "portable media" that was stolen sometime last weekend, ECMC said in a statement. Company spokesman Paul Kelash wouldn't specify what was taken, citing the ongoing investigation, but said there were no indications of any misuse of the data.
The St. Paul-based nonprofit said it discovered the theft last Sunday and immediately contacted law enforcement, and made the theft public when it received permission from authorities. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation.
ECMC said it has arranged with credit protection agency Experian to provide affected borrowers with free credit monitoring and protection services. Borrowers will be receiving letters from ECMC soon on how to sign up, gain access to fraud resolution representatives, and be provided with identity theft insurance coverage.
"We deeply regret that this incident occurred and the stress it has caused our borrowers and our partners and are doing everything we can to help protect our borrowers' identity and personal information," Richard Boyle, president and CEO of ECMC, said in the statement.
ECMC is a contractor for the U.S. Department of Education to provide collection and document management services. It guarantees student loans through the Federal Family Education Loan program, and provides support services for student loans that are in default or bankruptcy. The company can act as the guarantor, loan holder or loan servicer.
Department of Education spokesman Justin Hamilton said protecting student privacy is a top priority.
"We are working with ECMC to make sure that affected individuals are provided with resources to protect their information and to provide with them with identity theft insurance," Hamilton said. said protecting student privacy is a top priority for the agency.
Those who believe they may be affected
are encouraged to visit ECMC's Web site,
or call 1-877-449-3568 beginning today.
According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, more than 347 million individuals have been affected by data privacy breaches at hundreds of government agencies, universities and businesses since 2005.
The theft comes on the heels of President Obama announcement today that his student loan reform plan will ensure the United States has the highest proportion of college grads in the world. In his Saturday address, Mr. Obama said the plan will also save taxpayers $68 billion.
The plan eliminates subsidies for private banks who act as middlemen for student loans. The savings will go to increasing grants for college students and other programs.
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