A computer tape containing names and personal information of 188,000 college students, most from Colorado schools, was lost when a United Parcel Service shipment went missing recently on its way from Colorado to Texas.
The tape detailed student loans held by Nelnet Inc., a Lincoln, Neb., loan company, and contained such personal data as Social Security numbers and other account-related information. UPS notified Nelnet about the missing tape July 10.
A Nelnet spokesman said there was no indication that any of the data have been misused or obtained by anyone outside UPS.
“We have no reason to believe that the information has been used unappropriately or that there has been any sort of unauthorized activity,” said spokesman Ben Kiser. “In fact, after the investigation that UPS conducted, they believe that it never left UPS’s control at any time.”
The tape included data on loans serviced by Nelnet that were previously serviced by the College Access Network. The loans were serviced by the College Access Network between Nov. 1, 2002, and May 31, according to the Nelnet statement released July 17.
Some students who obtained loans from CollegeInvest said they were unaware that Nelnet had their personal information.
Collista Pacheco-Lewingdon, 21, a criminal-justice major at Metro State College in Denver, said she learned about the loss of the data in a letter from Nelnet.
“I didn’t even know they had my information,” Pacheco- Lewingdon said. “I thought my loan was through CollegeInvest. Getting that letter was a little surprising for me.”
Nelnet provides student-loan products and services to students and schools nationwide and also consolidates, securitizes, holds and services student loans.
The tape that was lost, Kiser said, “was being sent to a specialized vendor of ours that takes the information and puts it in a different format that then goes out to some of the lenders we work with.”
The package was on its way from Aurora to Austin, Texas.
In the future, Kiser said, Nelnet will transmit student-loan data using encrypted electronic transmissions rather than cartridge tapes.
“We are making every effort to inform our customers of the missing data tape. Although we believe the risk is very slight, we are encouraging them to take steps to protect their identity,” Kiser said.
UPS spokeswoman Lynnette McIntire said the package loss was an unusual event for the shipping company.
“It was lost in the process in transit, and we felt terrible about it because that is so rare for us,” she said. “What we did (was) an extensive search in every place on where it had been, and there was no indication that it had gone out of UPS’s possession, but we just didn’t find it.”
Generally, McIntire said, a package “goes through the system as our customer defines it. Obviously, you don’t want to put a big red label on this package that says, ‘There is something important in this.”‘
Christopher Garbo, a music- education student at Metro State, said he was informed in a letter Saturday that Nelnet had lost his personal information. The Castle Rock resident, 26, said he had no idea why his personal information was on a tape and why it was shipped.
“Why were they shipping this through UPS? Or do they have security processes for extremely sensitive information?” he asked.
Garbo said he received a letter from Nelnet in July 2005 that said the company would be servicing his loans for the fall and spring semesters.
“My identity hasn’t been stolen from this yet,” Garbo said. “But there’s nothing to say that it won’t be.”
Added Pacheco-Lewingdon: “I think it’s awful. They send us a letter telling us they lost our information, and they’re making it seem like it’s no big deal with all that identity theft that’s going around.”
Staff writer Ameera Butt can be reached at 303-820-1233 or abutt@denverpost.com.
Al Día: Para leer este artículo en español. denverpost.com/aldia
Colorado’s security-freeze option
Before approving loans and credit cards, banks require credit checks from the major consumer reporting agencies. On July 1, an identity-theft law took effect that allows Colorado residents to permanently freeze their files to make it harder for thieves to steal personal information and open fraudulent accounts. The law applies to all consumers – even if they have not been victims of identity theft. Even minor children and older students’ credit can be protected. How it works:
Send a certified letter to each credit reporting agency – Equifax, Experian and Trans Union – requesting a permanent freeze be put on your (or your child’s) credit records. There is no charge for initial requests. The freeze goes into effect five business days after the receipt of your letter.
To temporarily unfreeze an account (to make a legitimate application for credit), write three certified letters and include a $10 check for each request. Allow three business days for it to be in effect.
To permanently unfreeze an account, the charge is $10 for each request.
More online: For more information, go to the Colorado Attorney General’s site. www.ago.state.co.us/idtheft/securityfreeze.cfm
Sources: Colorado Attorney General, Consumers Union, The Denver Post
VICKIE MAKINGS, THE DENVER POST RESEARCH LIBRARY
