Identity Theft and the Impact on Students

College Students have become one of the lead targets for identity theft. Some statistics indicate that you are 10 times more likely to have your identity stolen than your car.

I read a study recently that revealed 50 percent of the victims of identity theft are college students. This is because of a variety of issues, including college credit card and job applications, which require a date of birth and Social Security number, and the lack of secure items including laptops and credit cards.

Identity theft today is expected to cost in the neighborhood of is a $54 billion, effecting millions of U.S. residents. More statistics can be found at: http://www.spendonlife.com/guide/identity-theft-statistics

Where do most of the crimes occur beyond someone obtaining your SSN#: Data breaches to college computer systems and networks, computer hacking on unsecure networks, Wesbite hacking, (Facebook, Myspace, etc.) viruses received via email or through social media.

I know growing up I was told that you NEVER were to give out your social security number. Today, through a few simple questions to high school or college students, I could easily obtain their personal information in less than 5 minutes. Most post their personal information on line or would even text it to another person without thinking twice.

Teach your students to question why someone needs their personal information and to push back while being polite. Many times, the information is not required and a simple “no” will prevent the information from leaving their possession. Should they have to provide their SSN number, ask where it will be stored and if it will be encrypted electronically.

I also recommend teaching your students how to check their credit through the free national providers at least twice per year. The sooner you can identify a problem, the better chance you have at limiting the damage. It is never to early to learn and practice good safety measures and having a shredder is a must, even for a college student. Shred anything that has personal data on it.

Password protection for accounts is the easiest and fastest way to start protecting your data. Most people use passwords that relate to something they know or would be easy to remember. Unfortunately, is does not take much for the bad guy to figure those out as well. Mix them up; add letters, numbers and special characters. They should use a minimum of 10-12 characters and should never be a name or something personally connected to the user.

Where do most of the people stealing your identities come from? They are mostly those with financial needs, and typically closest to the victim. It could be a college roommate, classmate, co-worker or even sadly enough, a family member.

In the event you or your student suffers the effects of identity theft, file a police report with the local and campus police immediately. This is a critical first step and will provide the paper trail needed to deal with this painful crime. Second, they should visit the Federal Trade Commission Website at www.ftc.gov and file a report. Third, the student should contact their credit card companies and bank to report the crime.

Like so many things in life, if we just slow down and pay attention to the warning signs in front of us, a lot of this can be avoided. It is ok to challenge someone asking for your personal data and it is certainly ok to ask who will have it and how will they protect it.

Should you want further information, please contact Dave Cullen at: dave@isi-1.com