January 26, 2007                                            

Dear Friend,

Vanguard University administrators have learned that a computer containing a database with certain personal information was burglarized from a secured office in the Financial Aid Office of Vanguard University. The database contained on the stolen computer included downloaded copies of FAFSA applications (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) from students and prospective students who applied for financial aid with the University for the 2005-2006 and the 2006-2007 academic years.

I regret to inform you that your name is in the database. While we are uncertain whether your personal information has been accessed, the information in the FAFSA database contained names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, phone numbers, driver's license numbers, e-mail addresses, and asset, income and tax information for FAFSA applicants and their parents. It does not include credit card or banking information.

Therefore, it is necessary to bring this theft to your attention and urge you to take steps to minimize the potential risk for identity theft and misuse of the database information. Again, I must emphasize that we have no evidence that personal information has been accessed or misused. 

Only designated users whose jobs required working with the restricted data had passwords to access the database. However, it is possible that someone with sophisticated hacking could fraudulently bypass the password protection systems imbedded in the stolen computer's software. When the burglary was discovered on January 17, 2007, a police investigation was immediately begun and Vanguard University began notifying the people whose information was in the affected database as soon as possible after determining that personal data was compromised and after we retrieved individual contact information. Anyone with information about the theft should contact Costa Mesa Police Detective Olin at (714) 754-5157.

As a precaution, I recommend that you place a fraud alert on your consumer credit file so  your creditors will know to be alert for suspicious activity, such as an attempt to open a credit card in your name. You may also wish to contact credit bureaus to place a security freeze on your accounts. A security freeze would require your consent before your credit history could be seen by potential creditors, employers doing background checks, or insurance companies. Details explaining who to contact to accomplish these preventive measures are contained in the attachment to this letter.

Information is also available on a website we have established, identityalert.vanguard.edu.  The site includes additional information on this situation and further suggestions and links to resources and information on preventative measures to protect you against identity theft. Also, you can call our toll-free number, (800) 920-7312 or email us at identityalert@vanguard.edu if you have unanswered questions about this incident or its implications.

If anyone calls and identifies themselves as a Vanguard representative and is seeking personal information, please know that they are not authorized by the University, and report it to us immediately via email or the toll-free number. Unfortunately, there are dishonest people who will falsely take advantage of this type of situation to contact you under the guise of offering assistance. I urge you to not release personal information and assure you that Vanguard University will not contact you via phone, e-mail, or mail seeking confidential or personal information.

We take our obligation to safeguard your information seriously and to inform you as quickly as possible of this information security breach. We are reviewing all of our security policies and procedures to ensure high levels of security are in place.  I deeply regret any concern and inconvenience caused to you by this incident.

Sincerely,

Murray W. Dempster

President