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IDEIITITV • COnnnueD PROmi account. Because your bills are being sent to a different • address, it may be some time before you realize there’s a problem.” The U.S. Department of Education says students are more vulnerable because of the availability of students’ personal data and the way many students handle this data. A recent national survey found that almost half of all college students receive credit card applications on a daily or weekly basis. Many students throw out card applications without destroying them — a bad move, according to the DOE. It also found that nearly 50 percent of students have their grades posted by Social Security number, making them even more vulnerable to identity theft. According to a 2004 Federal Trade Commission state-by-state trend survey, South Carolina ranks 31st in the number of identity theft victims for 2004. People ages 18-29 reported the most identity theft, 31 percent of the 2,148 victims reported in 2004. Columbia was the city with the highest number of incidents in the state, with 225. The FTC recommends checking for identity theft by getting a copy of your credit report and looking for anything unusual, such as credit cards you didn’t apply for, accounts you didn’t open or charges you can’t explain. The warning signs of identity theft, according to the FTC, are not receiving your bills on time, getting credit cards you didn’t apply r i i*i i •. IU1, UClllg UC111CU ucuu for no apparent reason, or getting calls or letters from businesses about services you didn’t ask for. The effects of identity theft can last for a long time, but it depends on the victim. “It’s difficult to predict how long the effects of identity theft may linger,” says the FTC Web site. “That’s because it depends on many factors including the type of theft, whether the thief sold or passed your information on to other thieves, whether the thief is caught, and problems related to correcting your credit report.” Kimberly South, public information coordinator for University Technology Services, said students, staff and faculty are encouraged to be alert to what they are sending in e-mails. “You should never give out your Social Security number, credit card information or other sensitive information __:l_i__:„ik. U1 Ull V lllUllj U11U VKJjyVVlUHj1 to a ‘generic’ e-mail address that you are not familiar with,” she said. She said USC staff will never ask for your Social Security number or credit card information. “If you ever see anything coming from USC that asks for this type of information, this is likely a ‘phishing’ scam,” South said. “Phishing,” also known as pretexting, is the practice of getting your personal information under false pretenses. South recommends using “strong” passwords. “Strong passwords are anything not found in the dictionary, contain both numbers and letters, and have upper and lowercase letters,” South said. “Hackers can use techniques that find what you may consider ‘hidden’ information ... and then access your information. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you use something not found in any dictionary.” South encourages everyone to be aware of what they are doing when giving out information. “Everyone is a potential target,” South said. “Mostly everyone above the age of 18 has at least one credit card and you need to treat that very carefully. Always know who is requesting sensitive information from you and know why they are requesting it. In this case, knowledge is power.” In an e-mail sent to USC faculty and staff April 13, faculty members jyere encouraged to be careful with Social Security numbers until a new system is adopted in the 2006 2007 school year. However, they will need to keep their Social Security number as the identification number until they new system is put in place. The e-mail was a copy of a bulletin posted on the Information Technology nuiietm vveD sice. “Even a-fter the implementation of the new system, the SSN will be maintained as a data element in university systems for purposes of employment, IRS reporting, and financial aid. SSN protection must always be a fundamental practice,” said the e-mail. For ways to prevent identity theft, visit the USC Police Department Web site at http://www.les. se. edu/safetytips.asp. Comments on this story? 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