College Students: How to Protect Yourself from Identity Thieves
It should really be no surprise that since 2005, more than a third of the victims of identity theft in the United States are college students. That's because students rarely take precautions to protect themselves agains identity theft, because lots of people have potential access to their personal information, and because they are the recipients of a ton of credit card and other commercial junk mailings.
Here are some suggestions from LifeLock CEO Todd Davis on how college students can protect themselves against identity thieves.
1. Buy and use a shredder. Never throw away anything that has your name, address, or other indentifying information without shredding it first.
2. Residence hall rooms and student apartments often have lots of folks in them, including some relative strangers. That's why it makes sense to password protect computer files and secure documents which include your personal information. Remember, it takes only one untrustworthy person to steal your identity and cause you years of trouble.
3. Parents, have your son or daughter order a free credit report, and check it for problems. You can get one free report a year, and resolve any problems you identify.
4. In the most recent three years, more than two hundred universities, colleges, school districts and student lending organizations have lost personal information on nearly 9 million students, faculty, and staff. Despite increases in institutional security, social security numbers and other critical identifiers are lost or stolen at a steady pace. Thus, it makes sense to take steps to make sure you have protected your identity in the event your information becomes vulnerable to identity thieves.
5. Opt out of all junk mail, as soon as possible. Identity thieves can steal credit card offers from your mailbox or garbage (if you fail to shred), fill in the applications with your name and their address, and charge thousands of dollars of goods and services to you. It happens every day.
6. Have free fraud alerts placed on personal information. Fraud alerts, offered by the major credit bureaus at no cost, mean that credit agencies will contact you directly to get your approval whenever someone tries to open a new credit account in your name or change your address. Thus, even if a thief manages to obtain your information, you can potentially stop him or her from opening new a new account or making an address change on an existing one. You can request fraud alerts yourself, but you must renew them several times a year, and they can fail if the creditors don?t make the call (as they are supposed to). Paying a company a small monthly fee to take care of the fraud alerts for you may be a good option, especially if the company offers you an identity theft guarantee.
Identity thieves are persistent. They are constantly attempting to acquire the confidential information they need to assume your identity, but if you are vigilant and if you take some simple steps to protect yourself, you are far less likely to become one of their victims.
Here are some suggestions from LifeLock CEO Todd Davis on how college students can protect themselves against identity thieves.
1. Buy and use a shredder. Never throw away anything that has your name, address, or other indentifying information without shredding it first.
2. Residence hall rooms and student apartments often have lots of folks in them, including some relative strangers. That's why it makes sense to password protect computer files and secure documents which include your personal information. Remember, it takes only one untrustworthy person to steal your identity and cause you years of trouble.
3. Parents, have your son or daughter order a free credit report, and check it for problems. You can get one free report a year, and resolve any problems you identify.
4. In the most recent three years, more than two hundred universities, colleges, school districts and student lending organizations have lost personal information on nearly 9 million students, faculty, and staff. Despite increases in institutional security, social security numbers and other critical identifiers are lost or stolen at a steady pace. Thus, it makes sense to take steps to make sure you have protected your identity in the event your information becomes vulnerable to identity thieves.
5. Opt out of all junk mail, as soon as possible. Identity thieves can steal credit card offers from your mailbox or garbage (if you fail to shred), fill in the applications with your name and their address, and charge thousands of dollars of goods and services to you. It happens every day.
6. Have free fraud alerts placed on personal information. Fraud alerts, offered by the major credit bureaus at no cost, mean that credit agencies will contact you directly to get your approval whenever someone tries to open a new credit account in your name or change your address. Thus, even if a thief manages to obtain your information, you can potentially stop him or her from opening new a new account or making an address change on an existing one. You can request fraud alerts yourself, but you must renew them several times a year, and they can fail if the creditors don?t make the call (as they are supposed to). Paying a company a small monthly fee to take care of the fraud alerts for you may be a good option, especially if the company offers you an identity theft guarantee.
Identity thieves are persistent. They are constantly attempting to acquire the confidential information they need to assume your identity, but if you are vigilant and if you take some simple steps to protect yourself, you are far less likely to become one of their victims.
About the Author:
Daniel Z. Kane is a university dean who advises students on online college degree programs and online degree programs.
posted by Debt Consolidation Loan at
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