Identity theft waiting to happen

On the average day last year, nearly 700 people in America reported some form of identity theft. Just under one-third of the victims in those cases are between the ages of 19 and 29, according to Consumer Sentinel, the federal government's fraud database.

Perpetrators can carry out any number of schemes, but the most popular is "new account fraud," in which they falsely apply for credit in someone else's name. Once that new platinum card arrives in the mail, it's off to the races. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that criminals run up an average of $10,200 in charges before being caught. Worst of all, the victim often has no idea what has happened until they are stuck with the bill. More than half of identity theft victims surveyed by the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center went more than three months before discovering that they had been victimized.

While most credit card companies offer fraud protection -- a federal law limits individual liability to $50, which most banks waive completely -- identity theft is still an enormous mess to sort out. In 20003, victims spent 60 hours and $1,800 on average resolving problems related to identity theft. Most cases take more than a month of wrangling. And that is for average Americans.

College students are anything but average, which is why identity theft and fraud are even bigger problems. Because younger people are less likely to have established credit histories, resolving issues of identity theft is more difficult. Late payments and collection notices, while fraudulent, can still appear on a person's credit report and can be difficult to clear up. So-called "fraud alerts" are a challenge to recover from for students who are looking to get their first credit card, bank loan or even a job.

These risks are not new -- identity theft has been a growing concern for more than a decade. But increasingly, college student are putting themselves more at risk. The problem is, too many students at Penn and across the country have become complacent, thinking, "It can never happen to me." They're wrong.

Think about all of the personal information about yourself you have posted online. Even the least sophisticated criminal would have little trouble piecing together enough information about you to do serious harm. Oftentimes the only thing missing is a Social Security number, and those are surprisingly easy to come by.

Last fall, someone made off with a hard drive containing tens of thousands of personal records from the California State University system, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In 2001, a temporary employee at Penn was arrested for illegally accessing student Social Security numbers.

When combined with other personal information -- such as home addresses and birth dates -- that students readily make available through online directories, Social Security numbers are the key that opens the door to identity theft.

In response to the growing threat of fraud, many universities have changed their policies to keep private information secure. Penn, for example, hired Lauren Steinfeld in 2001 as the university's chief privacy officer. Steinfeld is responsible for overseeing privacy operations across the University -- which can be a challenge, given Penn's large and decentralized organizational structure.

According to Steinfeld, the University has "taken all reasonable steps to reduce the threat" by removing all unnecessary references to student Social Security numbers and has reevaluated who has access to that information. Other schools, such as Colorado and Penn State, have just recently followed suit.

But as much as it would be nice to see Social Security numbers disappear from everything that is not, well, Social Security, there is still a lot of work to be done. Students who live in on-campus buildings with automated entry gates still have to enter the last four digits of their Social Security number for access. Just last month I received a refund check from the cashier's office. To pick it up I was asked for my Social Security number. Lo and behold, those nine digits were printed under my name on the check. And yesterday, a form from Student Health asked for my Social Security number for no apparent reason.

These misuses of private information cannot continue.

While Penn is working to eliminate Social Security numbers, there are a number of things all of us can do to protect our privacy and reduce the risk of identity theft. Chiefly, be careful with the information you make available on the Internet. Penn is not helping the cause by allowing students to post more information than before on its new online directory. And there are countless other sites which could be havens for anyone with the time and the software to sort through and compile extensive databases of unsuspecting college students.

Identity theft cost businesses and consumers $50 billion last year alone, and that figure continues to rise. Universities and their students need to realize the threat identity theft poses, and take steps to protect themselves.

Jeff Shafer is a junior marketing and management concentrator from Columbia Falls, Mont., and Editorial Page Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Par for the Course appears on alternate Thursdays.

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