Identity theft increases
Published Feb. 14, 2006
When freshman Korrie Moscato left for college, she never expected to have a problem with identity theft.
But last fall, she discovered someone had stolen her checking account information and drained her account using fake checks.
"I'd heard of credit card fraud, but I never thought that would happen to me because I don't have a credit card, and I don't put information online," Moscato said. "I didn't realize someone would even go to the trouble of making fake checks. It has made me a lot more cautious."
More than two-thirds of the complaints to the Federal Trade Commission in 2005 involved identity theft, according to a FTC report "Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data."
Twenty-nine percent of those complaints were filed by 18- to 29-year-olds, which is more than any other age group.
Mark Oleson, director of the MU Office of Financial Services, said students often have trouble with identity theft because they do not check credit reports on a regular basis.
"Since students are not applying for credit cards, jobs or insurance there is not as much need for students to look at credit reports compared to adults," Oleson said.
Another problem unique to students is that friends and roommates often have the easiest access to documents necessary to commit identity theft, Oleson said.
One of the easiest ways for students to safeguard their identities is by shredding all credit card applications to prevent other people from getting a credit card in their name.
Students also can check their credit for free once a year with any of the three consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — Oleson said.
To heavily monitor credit throughout the entire year, a person should request a credit check from any of these companies every four months, Oleson said.
The advantage in getting all three credit checks three times a year is that a person is more likely to catch a discrepancy before it is too late, he said.
"For example, I met with an international student with no debt and who didn't even own a credit card," Oleson said. "He applied for a car loan and was turned down because he had $30,000 in credit card debt from charges in New York. He never had any need to look at his credit report so he had no indication of a problem."
Moscato said her biggest concern is not getting the money back because it was insured but rather making sure the suspect is found.
She said police are involved and have the name of a suspect.
"I am worried about finding him, and I want to make sure he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Moscato said.