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Student Identity Theft - Stolen Futures

Posted by Grace Alexander on Monday, November 3rd, 2008

You’re 18 at last, and off to college. You have a part time job, a full time class load, a terrific roommate and a second hand car. Life couldn’t be better, right?

You’re pretty smart for an 18 year old - you listened when Mom and Dad were talking about finances and try to live within your means. You have one credit card, which you use for gas and groceries (and pay off in full every month), and a gym membership that debits a monthly fee automatically from your bank account. You know these two simple items are building your credit for the future.

What if the future changes and you don’t have a clue?

Now fast forward ahead five years. You’ve landed a great job with a reputable company, they are giving you a nice salary, and it’s time to upgrade your life. You decide to go apartment hunting and car shopping first thing in the morning. Imagine your surprise when you are turned down flat for both!

A copy of your credit report reveals the problem. For the past four years someone has been living high on the hog in your name, leaving behind a trail of bad debt and defaulted loans, broken leases and unattended utility bills.

The 18-29 demographic is at the highest risk for identity theft.

Unfortunately, a young, fresh credit file can be easily snatched and manipulated by identity thieves. By the time the college grad becomes aware of the fact, their future has been effectively stolen and they are facing an ever growing pile of issues brought on by the student identity theft.

In some cases, the ability to buy a car or house, obtain insurance, rent an apartment or even get a job can be badly compromised by repeated defaults and bad credit accumulated under your name. In worst case scenarios, a person could commit a crime using the stolen identity, leaving you, the victim, to take the rap.

How can these things happen? In many institutions of learning, a student’s grades may be posted by their SSN. In other cases, an irresponsible parent decides to open credit or utility accounts in their child’s name, running up astronomical charges and ruining their kids’ credit. Either situation can lead to years of difficulty and lost opportunity for the victim.

Protect your good name!

Student identity theft can be made much less likely if you take a few simple precautions. Buy a shredder and put your junk mail through it to get rid of credit applications. If your school automatically assigns you your SSN as an identifier, request for it to be changed. Leave your SS card locked up at home, and for goodness sakes have decent passwords on your computer to protect sensitive information.

Check your credit report regularly, or consider signing up for a monitoring system to alert you to suspicious activity. Vigilance is the key to keeping your identity safe, so invest in your future and guard it carefully!

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