Lessons in privacy
College may be a safe haven in many ways, but identity theft is still a serious risk
Students may go to college to study, but there's something many don't learn about until it's too late: identity theft. A growing peril in the electronic age, this particular brand of banditry usually entails stealing someone's identity by using his or her personal financial information--name, Social Security number, date of birth, and the like--to apply for new credit cards and loans. The victim isn't accountable for most of the money stolen but still must deal with the major headache of erasing bogus accounts from his credit record and doing battle with collection agencies. According to the Federal Trade Commission, close to 10 million Americans fell victim to identity theft last year, a 41 percent increase from 2002.
Financially inexperienced college students are particularly vulnerable. That's because roughly half of all colleges use Social Security numbers as student identifiers, and many post grades by ID number. And it's the Social Security number that unlocks the door to a credit history. "My advice to students is to be aware that you're in a high-risk environment," says Ed Mierzwinski, a consumer advocate with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington, D.C. "And be prepared to fight identity theft hard when it hits."
College and university computer systems are a gold mine of personal information about students, and several security breaches have occurred in the past few years. Servers at the University of Georgia, for example, were hacked last year, exposing key data about thousands of applicants and students. So far, no evidence of misuse has been found, but the school has tightened security procedures. At New York University, lax security settings led to the accidental leak of personal information not once but twice. "It made me feel like they weren't taking enough care that our identities and information were safeguarded," says Noah Young, 33, a political science senior whose data were left unprotected. NYU has since accelerated steps to enhance its computer security and has ceased using Social Security numbers as student ID s.
Already, a handful of states including California, New York, and Wisconsin have enacted laws restricting or prohibiting college and university use of Social Security numbers. Some schools, like Rutgers University, allow students a choice in picking a student ID number: their Social Security number or a random nine-digit number.
Exercise care. Students are also easy prey because they are barraged with credit applications. Half of all students receive preapproved offers for credit cards weekly, according to the U.S. Department of Education. They often just toss the credit offers in the wastebasket. Big mistake. "College students should do the standard things that people everywhere should do," says Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. "Protect the incoming and outgoing mail. Don't leave your mail around, pick it up promptly, and put it away in a safe place. Shred anything that would have your sensitive personal information." To shut off the preapproved application pipeline, you can call the hotline run by the three major credit bureaus (888-567-8688) and ask that your name be removed from the list.
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