FAFSA fraud victim - Can I report current income instead of 2022 tax info after special circumstance?

You're dealing with two separate issues here that need different approaches: 1. For the identity theft/fraud situation: Make sure you've documented everything with FSA. Request an "Identity Theft Victim Statement" be added to your FSA account. This flags your account and provides additional security measures. 2. For your income change: Yes, you absolutely CAN request a Professional Judgment (PJ) review based on your job loss. This is specifically what the "special circumstances" provision is for! The financial aid rep you spoke with was correct, but maybe inexperienced. Here's what you need to do: - Gather documentation of your last day of employment (termination letter, final pay stub) - Write a formal letter explaining your situation and when your income changed - Provide current household income documentation from your husband - Submit everything to your school's financial aid office requesting a "Professional Judgment Review Due to Income Reduction" The financial aid office has the authority to adjust your FAFSA to better reflect your current financial situation. This is a standard procedure - don't let that uncertain advisor make you doubt this!

I'm a financial aid counselor, and I can confirm that Professional Judgment for income reduction is absolutely allowed! We process these regularly. However, each school has their own specific form and documentation requirements for PJ reviews. Some want 3 months of recent pay stubs, some want a signed statement, others may request unemployment documentation. The most important thing: don't try to edit the FAFSA yourself to remove your 2022 income. That would be considered incorrect reporting. Always work through your school's financial aid office - they make the adjustments on their end through a process called "professional judgment" which is completely legitimate and sanctioned by Federal Student Aid.

my cosin had the SAME THINGS HAPPEN TO HER last semester!!! she found out someone use her ssn for fasfa!! she had to file police report and everything it was a whole mess but she eventually got it fixed. the fradu department at fasfa made her verify her identity with drivers license and stuff. then she had to do the professional judgement thing to because she lost her job. fasfa is such a pain sometimes!!!!!

Listen, the income adjustment through professional judgment is absolutely your right, but fair warning - these requests are not automatically approved. It's entirely at the discretion of your school's financial aid office. I'd suggest being SUPER thorough with documentation. Don't just provide the minimum. Include: - Letter explaining exact circumstances of employment change - Last day of employment verification - Unemployment benefits documentation (if you received any) - Monthly household budget showing financial hardship - Statement from previous employer (if possible) Also, the identity theft issue is SERIOUS. Beyond what FSA tells you to do, I strongly recommend: 1. Place a fraud alert with credit bureaus 2. File an FTC identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov 3. Consider freezing your credit Someone had enough of your personal info to file a FAFSA - that's concerning beyond just your student aid.

Have u tried calling the FSA hotline directly? Sometimes they can explain things better than the school ppl. I had to call them like 20 times last year for my verification issues lol

One more thing about your situation - since the fraud was committed using your information, I strongly recommend you also contact: 1. FSA's Ombudsman Group specifically (not just the general helpline) 2. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) to report the education-related identity theft This specific type of fraud might require additional steps beyond what's been mentioned. You don't want this causing issues with your financial aid eligibility in future years.

im sorry ur dealing with this!! the FAFSA system is BROKEN and identity verification is a joke. my frend couldnt even access their own acct but somehow someone else accessed yours?? make it make sense!! also if ur husband makes a lot of money u might not get much aid anyway. but def do the PJ thing. sum schools r better than others with it.

Just to clarify something important: When you submit documents for the Professional Judgment review, make sure you're clear that this is about BOTH: 1. Correcting the fraudulent application 2. Adjusting for your current income situation Sometimes schools handle these as separate processes, and you don't want your income adjustment request to get lost while they're dealing with the fraud correction. Consider requesting a meeting with a senior financial aid counselor rather than just working with whoever answers the phone.

wait did u try to login to studentaid.gov to see what information the fraudster put in ur fafsa?? u should check that to see what schools they sent it to and everything!!!