Preventing College Student Identity Theft

College students are renowned for being very casual with their personal information. Now a tool, being used by several universities to help root out identity theft on campus, is being marketed free to college students to scan their computer’s Internet browser, files, eMail, attachments, and a range of other programs to find information that would prove most vulnerable to hackers. The software also offers solutions such as removal or encryption to help them protect their Social Security numbers, passwords, and online banking personal identification numbers safely. Called Identity Finder, the software tracks down the casual use of more than a dozen forms of personal identification such as credit and debit card numbers, personal addresses, passport information, driver’s license numbers, and patient health information. Users can schedule computer searches or search on demand, according to Identity Finder’s web site. It may be hard to persuade your college student to try it but might be worth a try as data security crimes have jumped by over 50% in the last few years.

Identity Theft Help Sites

Two interesting facts about identity theft. One, your chance of it happening to you is fairly low although it happens more often than you think. Two, 3 out of 4 identity theft victims do not know how it happened, according to a new survey. No matter what the statistics say though, the most important thing to do is find the resources you need if it happens to you. So where do you go? Here's a quick list:

Federal Trade Commission

Free Annual Credit Report

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

Identity Theft Resource Center

Internet Crime Complaint Center

United States Postal Inspection Service

Identity Theft Assistance Center

Staying Safe in the Land of E-Commerce

Some people swear by online shopping, others wouldn't be caught dead making that seemingly fateful click-to-purchase online. Making purchases in both realms has its pluses and drawbacks. The truth is that in both realities the middle guy may be the biggest threat. Out in the real world, for example, the wait staff or clerk has possession of your credit card out of sight just as when you make an online purchase you have to trust that your credit card info is going to the right people who will send you what you are looking for. Always pour over your monthly credit card bill to make sure you haven't been scammed by the middleman. For more tips, see Staying Safe in the E-Commerce Jungle.

Identity Theft Risk Maybe Tied to Where You Live

There is an old real estate joke about location being everything and the same may be true when it comes to identity theft. While overall identity theft seems to be in a downward trend, depending on what surveys you read, mail and telephone fraud seem to be holding their own.  And interestingly enough, where you live -- rather than how you travel around the Internet -- can determine your chances of become an ID theft victim, according to a report from Javelin Strategy and Research. For example, citizens in Illinois, Delaware, California, Idaho and West Virginia are most at risk, while the Plains states and the Northeast claim the lowest incidence of ID fraud. States with the lowest incidents include Alaska, Utah, Nevada, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Indiana, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine. No matter who, where, when and why people are being scammed the cost of fraud per consumer rose overall by 25 percent, from $554 to $691 on average in 2007 and the telephone still seems to be the bad guys weapon of choice.

Some how this all sounds like a great poster contest for kids?

For the Love of Technology

A new survey says that a full 24 percent of respondents said the Internet could serve as a replacement for a significant other -- at least for "some period of time." Of course, most of those people were single, but it is a rather telling statistic. The poll also found that more than half of Americans believe Internet content such as video should be controlled in some way by the government. Twenty-nine percent said it should be regulated just like TV content, while 24 percent said the government should use an online rating system similar to that used for movies. Only 36 percent of respondents felt that blocking Internet video would be unconstitutional.

Among the poll's other findings was that more than a quarter of Americans currently have a profile on a social networking site such as MySpace  or Facebook . That varied widely, though, depending on age -- a full 78 percent of those aged 18 to 24 have profiles. Identity theft fears notwithstanding, more than 20 percent of respondents said they would willingly change their name to something different if someone offered them $100,000 for the rights to their original identity.

Finally, 11 percent of Americans said they would be willing to have an Internet access device implanted in their brains, assuming it was safe. Men were much more willing than women, with 17 percent vs. just 7 percent, respectively. Almost 20 percent, meanwhile, would be willing to have a chip implanted in kids under 13 to help keep track of their whereabouts. I wonder if the chip would have a built in obsolescence? I know that would be my teen's first question.

Monster Theft

Monster, the popular employment site, has announced that intruders have swiped sensitive data for at least 1.3 million job seekers. Invaded by a "rogue" server Monster has said that it is cooperating with police investigators to see what exactly what data the identity thieves got away with. "In targeting Monster, intruders sent out e-mail come-ons and pop-up ads pitching job-finding services to get victims to click on a tainted Web link. Clicking on it results in an error message, and turns control of the PC over to the intruder," says Don Jackson, virus researcher at security firm SecureWorks. Monster has posted detailed precautions at http://help.monster.com/besafe. A good reminder for parents and kids alike as we enter the fall and holiday season to be suspicious of any e-mail or Web ad that asks you to click on Web link, no matter how convincing.