College Campuses: Breeding Grounds for Identity Theft

When someone mentions the crime of identity theft, senior citizens immediately come to mind as likely targets. However, a September 2003 Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Survey Report made a startling revelation, Young people in the 18-29 age group experienced the highest levels of victimization, comprising 31 percent of the total thefts.

What is Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when someone uses the identifying information of another person-name, social security number, mother’s maiden name, and so forth- to commit fraud or engage in other unlawful activities. While numerous variations of the crime exist, an identity thief can fraudulently use personal identifying information to:

• open new credit card accounts;
• take over existing credit card accounts;
• apply for loans;
• rent apartments;
• establish services with utility companies;
• write fraudulent checks using another person’s name and account number;
• steal and transfer money from existing bank accounts;
• file bankruptcy; and
• obtain employment using the victim’s name.

Ironically, the dollar losses aren’t the greatest concern for most victims. The real problem for most victims, is straightening out a damaged credit history.

Campus Life Features Special Circumstances

In the campus community, the social security number has a wide array of uses. Students are asked frequently to disclose their social security number in order to:

• Receive grades;
• Register for classes; and
• Access housing records and other student files.

Many times, the social security number is all a person needs to assume someone else’s identity. Most students do not realize how sensitive the social security number is and the havoc it can cause if placed in the wrong hands.

Students also make attractive targets for the following reasons:

• Lack of attention to credit issues- They very seldom check their credit ratings or records. Most students figure since they only have a minimum wage job, if any, and few assets, they are not likely targets. The reality is this makes it easy for identity theft to occur and the identity can be used for a long time without the student’s knowledge.
• Ease of accessibility to credit- It is easy for college students to obtain credit cards. In order for most people to establish a credit history, they have to have previously had a credit card or loan. College students, because of special promotions, receive credit cards without a prior credit history, which makes attending college one of the easiest times to establish credit. With the right personal information, identity thieves can obtain credit cards using students’ names.

University professors, as a group, also possess many of the traits identity thieves look for in a victim. They are paid well and have good job security. What puts this group most at risk is the fact that their names, work titles, employer and academic background are all public record information. Most university catalogs yield this information. One ring if identity thieves operated in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years in the mid-1990’s. The ring specialized in stealing identities of university professors. Washington State had their identities stolen before the ring stopped operating in the late 1990s.

Many colleges make it simple to learn how long someone has worked there by providing a central number to call to verify the employment status of any faculty or staff member.

By reading the college catalog and making a couple of phone calls, the identity thief has just about all the information he or she needs. The only other information needed at this point is the social security number and birthdate, both of which can be purchased on the Internet for a nominal fee.

Consider the following cases, one in which the college loan processor provided the connection, and the second in which an administrative employee used access to student information.

A woman was sentenced to federal prison for stealing the identity of a university professor. The woman admitted that she assumed the identity of another woman with a similar name to obtain loans she was not qualified to receive. The victim, an English professor at a Georgia college, had graduated for a college in Arizona that the defendant also briefly attended, and both women had received student loans that were administered through the same company. Due to a computer mix-up, documents belonging to the professor- which included her social security number- were sent to the defendant. Shortly thereafter, the professor began receiving calls from companies that she had never heard of claiming she owed them large sums of money.

A desk clerk employed at a Florida college was sentenced to 14 months in prison after using credit cards obtained by stealing applications from students’ residence hall mail. The clerk allegedly sorted and re-addressed misdirected mail- or mail to be forwarded to the students’ current address- during the midnight to 8:00am shift. Investigators confiscated stereos, computer printers, televisions, a riding lawnmower, as well as washing machines and dryers, from the subject’s home. He used four credit cards to buy about $69,000 in merchandise and to withdraw cash advances, according to court records.

Identity Theft Prevention Strategies

The following is a list of strategies that can be helpful in preventing identity theft:

• Invest in a person shredder. Shred all documents that contain personal and financial information before throwing them away.
• Order a copy of your credit report at least one or two times per year from each of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). Look for address changes, name variations and fraudulent accounts you don’t recognize. Do this on your birthday to help you remember to do it at least once per year.
• Scrutinize your credit card and bank statements monthly. Look for charges or transactions you don’t recognize and report them immediately. Save receipts to compare to your billing statements at the end of the month.
• Minimize the amount of information you carry in your purse or wallet. Limit the number of credit cards you carry with you and don’t carry your social security card.
• Opt out of pre-approved credit card offers by calling (888) 5OPTOUT or (888) 567-8688. Your request covers all three major credit reports (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax).
• Keep a record of all your bank and credit card account numbers, expiration dates, telephone numbers and addresses of each creditor. Store it in a secure place. If an ATM or credit card is lost or stolen, contact the company immediately.
• Don’t leave outgoing checks or paid bills in your residential mailbox. Take your mail to the post office or drop it in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox. Also, consider paying your bill electronically, many financial institutions now offer this option.
• When you order new checks, do not have them sent to your residence. Pick them up at the bank instead.
• When establishing a password, use a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols. Avoid using the same password for other accounts or sites.
• When online, never provide financial information unless you initiate the transaction. Do not respond to any e-mail that requests personal and financial information.

If You Become a Victim

How do you know you’ve become a victim of identity theft? Here are some red flags or indicators:

• You are denied credit.
• A new or renewed credit card never arrives in the mail.
• You start receiving calls from creditors about debts you have no knowledge of.
• You discover unauthorized purchases on you billing statements.

The following steps should be taken if you become the victim of identity theft:

1) Contact the fraud department of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit report. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing account.
2) Contact the creditors (credit card companies, banks and other lenders) and close any accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
3) File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

Credit Bureau / To Report Fraud

Equifax (www.equifax.com .com) / 800-525-6285

Experian (www.experian.com) / 888-397-3742

TransUnion (www.transunion.com) / 800-680-7289

Johnny May, CPP, is an independent security consultant/trainer who specializes in protecting individuals and organizations from identity theft. He is the author of Johnny May’s Guide to Preventing Identity theft and the featured expert in the video production Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Credit, Your Money and Your Good Name. For more information visit www.identitytheftinfo.com or e-mail at secres@prodigy.net.

Identity Theft Prevention
Preventing identity theft