In 2009, 45,000 current and former members of the Cornell University community were put at risk of identity theft because a computer was stolen. At Old Dominion University, about 600 students were put at risk in 2004 when their names and social security numbers were posted on the Internet. Identity theft is a nationwide problem, but some would argue it’s an even bigger problem for college students.
About 34 percent of identity theft victims are college students, according to IdentityTheft.com, a leading source for information about identity theft. They are easily the largest demographic of identity theft victims, according to the site. Identity theft expert Robert Siciliano says that college students are more at risk because the colleges keep so much of the student’s personal information on file. Remember that your college has access to everything from your birthday to your social security number. If someone were to get access to a college’s file system, chaos could ensue. Even worse, some colleges post student’s grades by their student identity number, which is often the same as the students social security number, according to IdentityTheft.com. This makes it easy for anyone to steal a student’s identity. If this is the system at your school, one way to protect yourself from a college’s negligence is to request a random student identification number instead of the college using your social security number.
Identity theft is an especially big problem for college students because they are constantly receiving credit card applications, Siciliano said. Unfortunately he also stated that unless the students shred every piece of mail they receive, they are at risk of dumpster-diving cons stealing their identity. Shredding or locking paper with personal information on it (credit card statements, bank statements, bills, etc.) is an easy way to prevent the wrong people getting their hands on your information. Doing electronic banking is another way to keep private information private. But always remember to log out after banking and never bank on a public computer.
Something people don’t often think about is accessibility to personal information. I’ll admit that I used to keep my social security number on my phone, but now I realize that’s just not smart. Never keep any personal information on your phone or computer and don’t leave it lying around the dorm. Investing in a safe is always a good idea, and usually relatively inexpensive.
Popular social networking sites also put students at risk. Making your profile private on these sites isn’t enough anymore, according to the Associated Press. If students don’t pay attention to what they agree to when they add applications, students could be giving out personal information. It has become so easy for people to go online and steal someone’s identity with just information provided on Facebook. An easy way of protecting yourself is to avoid posting any personal information on social networking sites like Twitter, Myspace or Facebook. You can still connect with friends, but it will help you avoid the creeps. Also, make sure when you install “applications” you don’t check any boxes that allow the application to access your personal information. You never know what they could do with it.
New ways to steal debit and credit cards have also come to light. Before you swipe your card anywhere, it is important to check if there is anything extra attached to the machine. Con artists can now add little additional parts that will read the card’s number for them. Another simple way to make sure you keep track of your finances is to check your monthly statements. It is so easy to go online once a week or even once a month and make sure you really did buy everything it says you did. When my debit card number was stolen, I didn’t know until weeks after when I noticed a purchase for shoes…in Ohio. It was hard for the debit card company to do anything because it was so late. So check your statements, it doesn’t take long and it’s worth it.
Having your identity stolen is a horrible experience and unfortunately as college students we are at high risk for it. Just remember be careful, keep yourself knowledgeable about your finances, and you’ll be fine.