Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
Why ? Because they do not care! September is National Campus Safety Awareness Month, and I team up with Uni-Ball pens to encourage students to protect their personal safety. Uni-ball pens and the Identity Theft Resource Center surveyed 1,000 students and 1,000 parents. This safety investigation Campus revealed that while about 74% of parents believe students are at moderate to high risk for identity theft, and 30% of all identity theft victims are between 18 and 29, only 21% of students are concerned about identity theft.
There are currently no surprise that most students are indifferent regarding their personal safety and information. When you are in your late teens or early twenties, you feel a sense of invincibility. However, once you have a few years under your belt, you start to mature and gradually realize the world is not all about keg and raves. Hopefully if all goes well, you adopt some wisdom when you are 30.
Here are some more interesting statistics from the Survey of Campus Security.
- 89% of parents have discussed safety precautions with their children, but children continue to engage in risky behavior
- 40% of students leave their apartment or dorm unlocked doors
- 40% of pupils provided their social security numbers online
- 50% of Shred students sensitive data
- 9% of students share passwords online with friends
- 1-10 helped strangers in their apartments
- Only 11% use a secure pen (which can prevent the washing fraud check) during inspections of writing
College students have always been easy marks because their credit is ripe for the taking. Social Security numbers of students have traditionally been openly displayed on student badges, testing information in files and databases all over campus. Owners and those involved in housing on campus also have access to student credentials.
The study concluded, "Students who ignore their own personal safety are not only endangering themselves for identity theft, they also put their parents at risk. While set in the real world, it is common practice for students to use the names of their parents, bank account numbers and other personal information to co-sign loans and leases, checks tuition and housing , register online to receive grades and more. So when online criminals strike, they often handle personal data, not just parents of students. "All the parents to send their children to college should be concerned
How to protect yourself.!
- Lock your doors The transient nature of college life means people come and go and the flight is more likely to happen. Just because you come from a small town and do not lock your doors, it does not do well in school.
- Limit the amount of information you give. So you might have to give some private data, refuse whenever possible.
- Shred everything! old bank statements, credit card statements, credit card offers and other documents bearing the account number must be shredded when no longer needed.
- lock your PC. Make sure your Internet security software is up to date. Install the software delete spyware. Lock your wireless connection. Use passwords that include uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. And never sharing passwords.
- Secure your signature. Use Uni-Ball gel pens to write the rent checks and sign documents. They cost as little as $ 2 and contain Kingdom "Super Ink," which is specially formulated to reduce document fraud and check washing, a popular form of identity theft.
- Be alert for scams online. Never respond to emails or text messages that are supposed to come from your bank. Always sign in to your bank account manually via your favorites menu.
- invest in identity theft protection. All forms of identity theft can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk.
- Get a credit freeze. Go to ConsumersUnion.org and follow the steps for your particular state. In most cases, this prevents new accounts from being opened in your name.
Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses protection against identity theft and check washing on Description TBS and a Makeover .
Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, an expert on identity theft, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 and start-up companies as a consultant on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. the thoughts and advice of Siciliano on all these issues often appear in both television and print media news, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of safety training as a member of the American Society for Industrial Security. He is the author of two books, including The Safety Minute: Living on high alert; How to take control of your personal safety and to prevent fraud . He also established a partnership with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness of the growing threat of identity theft and provide tips on how you can protect yourself.