The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 19, 2006, Page 7, Image 7
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
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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
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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? E-mail
gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu
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