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.

To protect themselves against identity theft, students and parents can use these tips, offered by LifeLock CEO Todd Davis. LifeLock is the nation's first identity theft prevention service for individual consumers.

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. Students should request and review their credit reports each and every year. They can get one report a year at no cost, and identify any existing or potential credit-related problems they may have.

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. Reduce your junk mail. All of us have mailboxes jammed with offers for credit cards, instant credit, and merchandise. Opt out of these and other junk mail and pre-approved credit card offers. Identity thieves can steal these offers from your mailbox or trash (remember the shredder). Then, in a matter of minutes, they fill out those applications, change your address to theirs, and subsequently charge their purchases to you.

6. You can contact the major credit reporting services to initiate fraud alerts which means you will, at least in theory, be contacted before anyone is able to open a new account in your name. You must renew these alerts every 90 days, or you can hire a credit protection service to take care of it for you. Some such agencies will actually compensate you if anyone successfully steals your identity. One agency offers a guarantee of up to $1 million.

Identity thieves are frequently aggressive and clever, and they like to target college students for reasons we've already touched on. But, a few simple precautions and a little common sense can go a long way in protecting you from them.

Article Source: ArticlesMaker.com

About the Author: Daniel Z. Kane is a university dean who advises students on online college degree programs and online degree programs. 

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