2,317,830 - That’s the number of identities involved in security breaches from colleges and universities in the U.S. in the first five months of 2008. This number is from PrivacyRights.org where they track this kind of information.i In reality there are additional breaches, however there are many reported as unknown on the amount of information recorded as stolen. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone whose personal information was stolen will actually become a victim, but it certainly puts a lot of young adults at risk through no fault of their own.
One of the problems with people in the 18-24 year old range is that they don’t give a lot of thought about checking their credit reports. We all tend to think we’re bullet-proof at that age. This gives identity thieves plenty of time to commit their crime and make a clean getaway.
Those attending a college or university often carry around "their life" in their backpack or purse, which really increases their risk if it is stolen.
Actually, students comprise the single largest demographic (34%) of all identity theft victims. Increased amounts of credit card offers, communal living that makes information easily accessible and universities that use social security numbers as a means of identifying students are just a few of the many ways students are being put at risk.
Then there are vendors for credit card companies that set up on campuses and offer students credit cards. The applications require SSNs, date of birth, name, address - just the kind of info a thief would want. It’s possible that some vendors aren’t legitimate or the person taking the applications is also making copies. And, commonly students mistakenly assume that they don’t have anything to steal because they don’t have any money. But identity thieves aren’t always after money you may have. Instead they are after credit you have access to. University students are new credit applicants, who generally still have "clean credit" and this makes them an attractive target. Since college students generally have no more than one credit card and a student loan or two, they are prime targets for identity theft because they have clean records. And, on top of that, their identities are usually pretty easy to steal.
It helps not only the university but also the student themselves. Having a university-sponsored program will limit the institution’s liability and give the students the help they need if and when a breach occurs. Additionally it will cover students under any circumstance of an identity theft, not only taking care of the university’s data breach.
The identity theft restoration service can be included in student medical plans as an added benefit as well. And because at least one of our vendors offers components that cover this sort of breach, it would be a good fit for the group looking to use the service in this way. And with the ever-increasing cost of health care in the United States, medical identity theft is becoming commonplace. When someone else uses your name to obtain health benefits or prescriptions, you can lose your health coverage because of the false information in your medical record. This can haunt you for years, since medical databases are notoriously slow to update.
