Stealing the intangible – your identity
Riddle: what can someone steal from a student that is often intangible, and despite the fact that the student is low-income, still make the criminal rich?
It is a student’s identity. The theft of a date of birth and social security number are known as stealing the “key to the kingdom” because this information can be turned into money, according to Mike Prusinski, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at the identity theft protection company LifeLock.
Prusisnki mentioned statistics like ‘You’re ten times more likely to get your identity stolen in America than your car,’ and ‘According to the FBI, identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America,’ as well as ‘Identity theft is a low risk-high reward crime so less than half of 1 percent of people ever committing this crime ever get prosecuted.’
“It is not hard to believe that college aged students are in one of the fastest growing segments of the ID theft crime, according to the Federal Trade Commission,” Prusinski said.
When students go back to school, they are bombarded with people looking for their information, like financial aid sources, housing, local banks and creditors, Prusinski said.
Marketers see college students as a brand new form of income, so they target them.
Prusinski said while Utah is in great standing overall, approximately 34th nationally, it all comes down to how the crime is reported. He said it may be in Utah that not as many cases get reported, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the crime is not going on.
On Aug. 26, LifeLock paired with the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (LEEDA) to put on a free identity theft summit in West Valley City to help Utah law enforcement become aware of new trends and how they can best work to combat the crime. Prusinski said these summits are critical because identity theft is a very fast-changing crime.
Some of the common things students do that put them at risk for ID theft are, according to Prusinski, are:
– Leaving out wallets or purses, checkbooks, ID cards or even leaving a computer logged on, not just in public places like libraries, but also in dorm rooms where roommates or friends can have access to them. Prusinski said, “You might be friends now, but 25-30 percent of all identity theft crimes are cases of friendly fraud, where the thief knows the victim.”
– Carrying a social security card in a purse or wallet. Prusinski said the number should be memorized and the card put in a safety deposit box.
– Downloading filesharing networks. Some of these networks are free downloads that anyone can get on their computer to share music with the world, like Limewire, Bearshare or Frostwire. They not only enable the user to share music, but documents from their computer.
Prusinski said, “If you are saving your tax return on your computer, criminals can do a simple search on the network for “tax return,” and then they will download it on their computer. You may not ever know it was taken. You should never put these dangerous programs on your computer.”
What can a consumer do to protect themselves? Prusinski said the first thing is to get educated by using the internet. Criminals use it to get information on victims, but students can use it to learn about the different types of ID theft. He said there are 27-30 kinds.
Taylor Stroshine, a freshman majoring in psychology, said while she has no filesharing networks on her computer, her personal documents are just in a file box, and are thus not protected from friendly fraud, a common mistake according to Prusinski.
He also said to know where there are risks when providing information. For example, whenever someone asks for a social security number, ask why it is needed, like at a doctor’s office. If they cannot answer why, nor tell how it is being protected, don’t give it.
ID theft can even happen through a college or university.
A LifeLock press release said, “Since July 2009, an estimated 72 breaches in 30 states have been reported, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse website. It said in approximately 88 percent of these instances, a student or individual’s SSN was exposed. A number of the listed breaches on Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s website do not specify the number of affected individuals, implying that this number could actually be higher.”
What happens when an identity is stolen?
Often, the thief opens credit accounts, utilities, mortgages, gets medical treatment or will even go to another part of the country and get a job. Prusinski said it is not uncommon for them to file the victim’s tax return and receive the refund. Then, when the victim files, the IRS is asking why he or she has double filed.
“ID theft is different from every other crime in America. You are guilty until you prove yourself innocent,” Prusinski said.
If someone learns they have had their identity stolen, they need to file a police report and contact the Federal Trade Commission so the case is documented. Next, contact the credit bureaus to work on fixing credit scores. Prusinski said generally when someone learns their identity has been stolen,it is because they receive a bill in the mail or a phone call from a bill collector.
“You don’t have to live with your head in the sand, use precaution and research insurance. States and colleges are getting smarter about not putting numbers on cards, but some people still carry them around anyway,” Prusinski said,
“We have a feeling it won’t happen to me, even though all the stats show you that you know someone who has been victimized or have been yourself. Every ten seconds, there is a new victim of ID theft.”
–storee.powell@aggiemail.usu.edu