Spring Break
Are you me?
Rising identity theft causes campus reaction
By: Patrick Hayslip
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: News
 Photo Illistration by Daniel Bates |
Breanne Prestage, a senior political science major, had her identity stolen two weeks ago. She said she suspects the thief obtained her information through the Internet.
"When I went online to check my credit card balance, I knew I had a payment coming up, and I saw around $4,000 worth of computers bought," Prestage said.
Identity theft is on the rise, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). An FTC report stated that 12.7 percent of 4,057 participants said they had discovered the misuse of their personal information within the past five years.
The number of ID theft victims who reported discovering the misuse of their personal information between one and two years ago was almost double that for the period two to three years ago.
Prestage said she cancelled the credit card right away, but was still very concerned about the situation.
"My first thought was that my credit card number was stolen, but it turned out, according to the credit card company, that it was my entire identity that had been stolen because my mail (had been) rerouted to Kentucky," Prestage said.
Many precautions can be taken to prevent identity theft, including the proper destruction of bank statements and being cautious of telephone solicitation.
"Proactively monitoring your online banking is a great way to prevent identity theft," said Betty Riess, a representative for Bank of America.
Causes of identity theft can be difficult to track after the identity is already stolen, but being aware of common causes is the first step to prevention, Riess said.
Thieves sometimes steal information from people through e-mail or phone by posing as legitimate companies and claiming they have a problem with people's accounts. This practice is known as "phishing" online, or pretexting by phone, according to the FTC.
Other common methods of stealing identities include the conventional theft of wallets or purses, going through trash for personal information or hacking into business records. Telephone solicitors sometimes call offering special deals to obtain personal financial information.
"The saving of passwords and other personal financial information on computers you don't normally use are common ways identities are stolen by hackers," Riess said.
Prestage said she feels lucky to have caught the theft so early.
Be sure to include your name, major, and class year. Submissions without this information are subject to deletion.
By submitting a comment, you agree to thebatt.com's Terms of Use.
You may also send a Mail Call to The Battalion at mailcall@thebatt.com