The Observer, September 26, 2008
Volume XLI, Issue 5
Identity theft and college students
Identity theft happens to over 750,000 Americans annually, according to the Ohio Society of CPAs. In fact, 34 percent of complaint cases relating to identity theft that the Federal Trade Commision (FTC) received in 2007 came from those 29 years and younger, including many of us college students.
While I have not experienced a full identity theft myself, I cannot begin to tell you the fear that I felt when a check I wrote and mailed never made it to the destination it was meant for, but ended up in someone else's bank account. Two months later, that money still isn't in my hands. Luckily, I caught it immediately and no matter what, I will receive the entire amount back. Sometimes this isn't always the case with many banks or credit cards, so check into your policy.
What should you look for to catch this kind of theft early?
Unexplained charges
Failing to receive certain mail/bills
Credit cards for which you didn't apply
Phishing (pop-up while visiting a website, asking for information)
Pharming (companies will never ask you confirm your information via e-mail)
A lot of our personal information has become public. Think of how much information someone could find out about you just from the yellow pages (phone number, address) or even Facebook and MySpace. Because of this, we must be extra careful with the rest of the information that we have.
Identity theft can occur through stolen mail, information from old bills and receipts, stolen or lost wallets, etc. Make sure to react as soon as you discover any information that looks suspicious. It's better to check and be wrong than forgetting about it.
Tips to minimize risk
Don't e-mail any personal information
Use a strong antivirus program (software.case.edu)
Check your bank and credit card charges frequently
Shred all documents with personal information
Memorize your new case ID (no longer using SSN)
Order the free annual credit report from one of the three companies (Experian, Equifax, Transunion). You can space these out every four months so you have the most coverage.
Place your name in the donotcall.gov registry
If you are going out of the country or to another state, call your credit cards or bank and let them know. This way they can also catch any weird charges.
For more information, visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft or www.identitytheft.org.
