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College Students Headed Back to School Are Prime Targets for Identity Theft

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 September 2008, 09:00 CDT

College students headed back to school are prime targets for identity theft. Before heading back to school, IdentityTruth, the leading provider of a new breed of service to help consumers safeguard their Privacy and Identity, has come up with a list of tips for college students to help prevent id theft.

College students need to understand how to protect themselves from identity theft. Here is a list of tips for them to learn how to protect their identity today, to avoid problems tomorrow--when they may look to finance a home, purchase a car or take out additional loans for graduate school.

Social Security Numbers: If you're going off to college, ask the school not to use your social security number as your college ID number. Be about sharing your Social Security number, and ask if it is really necessary when someone requests it.

-- Text Messages: Watch out for text message offers. Many of these offers come from sources that are not secure. No legitimate provider--your bank or credit card company--will ever send you a text requesting login or account information, so if you get a message asking you to "verify" your login, delete it. To be safe, call your cell phone provider and opt-out of this marketing feature.

-- MySpace and Facebook: Networking is fun, but sharing personal information can put you at risk for identity theft. Although you are prompted to provide your full name, date of birth, addresses for home and campus, class schedules and phone numbers, never give any personal information on unsecured sites. This information can be gathered to obtain access to your personal accounts. Remember: you never really know who someone is online.

-- Laptops: Stolen laptops are another vehicle to obtain personal information about an individual. Over the last 6 months, 1 out of 4 data breaches affecting colleges and universities stemmed from the theft of laptops at the registrar's office. Always make sure that your laptop is password protected. Purchasing a security cable can prevent your laptop from being removed from a stationary object without knowing the assigned password. If an identity thieve was to rip out the cable without the password, all your information is automatically removed. Another recommended safeguard is to have your laptop engraved. Ask your campus police department if they have an engraving program.

-- Cell Phones: Never store identifying names, companies, or login information on your cell phone. If you loose your cell phone, all this information can be easily extracted off your SIM Card and used to access your personal information. If you lose your cell phone, contact your provider immediately to report the loss.

About IdentityTruth Inc.

IdentityTruth is the leading provider of a new breed of service to help consumers safeguard their Privacy and Identity. Through innovative technology, individuals receive the earliest possible notification(TM) in advance of potential misuses of their identities so they can take better control. Early detection is the best protection. IdentityTruth is a privately held, VC- funded company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Investors include Argonaut Ventures and Stata Venture Partners. For more information, go to www.identitytruth.com or call 781-684-1300.

Source: Business Wire

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