Those affected by the student loan privacy breach announced on Jan. 11 are organizing and demanding government accountability.
A Facebook group called Student Loan Borrowers Affected by the HRDSC Privacy Breach, comprised of 2,459 borrowers as of January 31, has formed, with more than 250 of them signing a letter released on January 28.
The letter expresses concerns over Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s (HRSDC) latest solution to the breach, an offer of a free fraud alert flag provided by credit bureau Equifax, something HRSDC said normally costs $5.
“What HRSDC purchased from Equifax was a unique solution that was designed specifically for this particular incident,” says Alyson Queen, HRSDC communications director. “It’s not the free service. This is added for six years. We’re currently trying to work with other authorized financial institutions.”
On January 23, two days before HRSDC began offering fraud alerts through Equifax, Canada’s other national credit bureau, TransUnion, began charging $5 to enable fraud alerts. Both bureaus offer credit-monitoring services starting at $14.95 per month.
“I can’t afford the $30 to $40 per month in fees for credit monitoring packages from both bureaus,” says UBC grad Nick Hall. “Those affected should not be out of pocket for the way the government has mishandled their information.”
Many borrowers are still waiting on promised correspondence from HRSDC containing information on credit-protection services offered and further information about what to do next. When one Facebook group member asked if anyone had received a letter, not one of the 70 respondents had.
“The letters are going out for everyone for whom we have current contact information,” says Queen. “The department stopped sending letters for a short period of time, just so that any future letters that were being sent would have information on the credit protection.”
Prince Edward Island postsecondary student Amanda Thoy started the Facebook group on January 12, hoping to provide a forum for those affected to voice concerns. The group grew quickly and Thoy struggled to keep up with membership demand.
“We have now become more of an awareness group speaking out against HRSDC,” says Thoy, asserting the department’s dealings with the public had not been honest. “Many Canadians are still not aware this breach has happened.”
On November 5, 2012, an HRSDC employee discovered a hard drive containing the personal information of 583,000 student loan borrowers was missing. The public was notified 67 days later.