CWR Security Focus – May 2009
By John Enright
John Enright, Former U.S. Secret Service Agent
Little thought is given by college students to the importance of protecting their personal information from identity thieves. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes around the globe and affects just about every sector of our society. Identity thieves use the personal information of others to apply for credit cards, bank loans and mortgages to defraud financial institutions, businesses and individuals of billions of dollars each year around the world. In recent years we have witnessed the theft of thousands of innocent victim’s personal information from computer records of companies like TJ Maxx and other large brand name stores. More prevalent however, is the theft of an individual’s identity from small time criminals who prey on inexperienced and novice card holders who for the first time are carrying and using credit and debit cards while away from home at college.
Hundreds to thousands of identity thieves live and prey in every region of the world and are as much of a factor in identity theft as the sophisticated hackers who tapped into the TJ Maxx network and stole 40,000+ customer identities. Before they even reach college, future students are barraged with credit card offerings to help them ease into college life. Parents are applying for cards for their children and most students today in addition to a credit card, now have debit cards to conduct their finances while away at school. The problem however lies in the fact that students often do not understand the danger of identity theft and the lengths thieves will go to steal their identity. Compounding this problem is the fact that colleges themselves have had their computer data bases, containing student’s personal information, hacked into by sophisticated thieves as was done to TJ Maxx. Social networking sites on the internet and email usage by unsuspecting users have also created additional vulnerabilities for thieves to exploit.
Educating college students on the dangers of identity theft and providing them with the tools to protect their identities will empower students to take responsibility for safeguarding their personal information. As we have talked about in previous articles, proactive, educated and aware students can take responsibility for their own safety and create a safer environment to enjoy college life. This also applies to protecting students from identity theft and illegal access of their financial accounts. The biggest obstacle preventing students from taking the necessary precautions with their information is the feeling of comfort and safety students have living away at college. College life invites many strangers into a student’s life at house parties, college gatherings and other events. Students have a tendency to leave their money, wallets and other valuables on desks and dressers in their dorm rooms. This becomes problematic during dorm parties or even when they just leave the residence for a short period to exercise or lounge outside on the quad. These events offer thieves excellent opportunities to enter a dorm room and access credit card information from their wallets. In short, student’s habits, college parties and other situations offer ample opportunities for strangers to enter college residences and steal personal identity information.
Students should move into their college residences with a “lock box” or safe that can be secreted away in their room and used regularly to secure valuables, prescription medications and important documents. Students should not share their combination, key or box location with any other students including their roommates. Remember your information is personal and even your closest friends do not have a need to know where your valuables are or how to access them. Students who use their credit and debit cards regularly for purchases by phone or online should guard against others hearing, seeing or accessing their card numbers, expiration dates, security codes and passwords. Again, this is your personal business and no one else has a need to know it.
Students should not allow others to use their cards even if they are reimbursed with cash. This practice allows others to have access to your card numbers, expiration dates and security codes. College pranks have also been known to occur where students have come across another’s credit card and then use it to make random purchases as a prank, albeit a serious one. Of important note to mention here is that just because your credit and debit cards are still in your possession doesn’t mean your information is secure. Thieves can access all of your information to include date of birth, social security numbers and credit card numbers with security codes by going through your possessions and just writing down your information when you are not in your room. Unlike if your card was actually stolen, you will never know that your information was accessed until the unauthorized purchases appear on the following month’s bill.
College students can also fall victim to email “phishing schemes” if they are not prudent in responding to email offerings. Thieves in the cyber world will search continually for potential victims using email and forward attractive but bogus offers trying to entice the innocent party to reveal their personal identity information. As a rule, legitimate financial institutions and businesses would never request your information in this manner and email users should never provide personal information over the internet unless they are certain of the requestor. In most instances financial institutions that you deal with will already have your information and will not have a need to be requesting it from you. Similar rules apply for telephone calls from unknown organizations or institutions who request personal information over the phone. Never provide your information over the telephone for any offering.
Many colleges offer services and information regarding identity theft and IT security that can assist students in becoming better educated and aware of this crime that has no boundaries. Students should take advantage of the free advice offered by their colleges and protect themselves from being the next victim of an identity thief.
About John Enright: John J. Enright is a retired United States Secret Service Agent in charge and now the President of Enright & Associates, Inc., a global security management and investigations firm.
CWR Security Focus 