This is a very short article, but if you take a look at the below, it may be one of the most important ones you read, especially if you are deep in the student financial aid process for school, or for your kids.

Like so many other things now, Student Aid is also becoming a hot target for phishing and scams, specifically to get your tax and personal info. See the fake email that just came out today:

What's wrong with this picture? Looks very professional and government-like, similar to actual federal student aid communications. First, the email sending address is a .com versus a .edu or .gov.

Second, the button address is clearly not fafsa.gov either. This is probably a marketing move to get an applicant for a private loan instead, but it could be a lot worse. Either way, it's deceptive and scammy.

Watch out for this. Once your info is out there, it's not coming back.

The real FAFSA website can be accessed directly and you can do all your student aid applications inside it. Never click to it through an email.