A former University of Minnesota student’s identity was used to apply for a $20,000 loan she didn’t request to pay for classes that were never attended.

Michaela Menigo, a 2010 alumna, filed a report with University police last week when she got an email saying that she had been approved for financial aid to the University of Wisconsin-Superior — a school she never applied to.

The suspect used Menigo’s personal information, including her social security number and official University of Minnesota transcript, to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Though the government approved the FAFSA, Menigo was able to cancel it before the loans were taken out.

Someone used Menigo’s information once before to apply for federal student aid in 2012, she said. The applicants were able to take out just less than $20,000 in loans before Menigo found out.

In that case, the loan applicant applied for classes and paid tuition with the loan but kept the remaining balance of the loan.

University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said it can be difficult to tell whether personal information has been stolen. If the thief uses his or her own address on the application, the victim may not find out about the fraud until they receive a notification from another organization.

Miner recommended that in addition to being careful with their information — especially online — students should get an annual credit check, which lists all issued credit cards and loans.

The Federal Trade Commission recommends keeping passwords private, using secure browsers online and wiping devices like laptops and phones of personal information to keep data private.

Since she didn’t apply for the loan, Menigo said it’s been challenging for authorities to assist her because she couldn’t give them the account information.

Menigo said it’s also been difficult to remedy because many people are unfamiliar with the situation.

“It’s still so new to everybody, so you get a lot of dead ends,” she said.

On the first application, the loan applicants also used Menigo’s maiden name, which further complicated things.

“It’s kind of a mess,” she said.

University police are working with Menigo and authorities at UW-Superior to track the information. Miner said they hope to find the IP address of the person who submitted the application but have no leads yet.