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Baylake Bank Warns of Identity Theft Risk for College Students and Parents

August 31, 2009 - The 18-29 year old age bracket continues to account for almost 30 percent of all identity theft complaints, but a recent survey of college students shows that most are indifferent when it comes to protecting their personal security. And, as a student goes off to college, many parents aren’t thinking about identity theft as a risk for their child’s information, much less their own.

Why would a parent’s information be at risk? This comes into play because routinely it is a parent’s name, bank account numbers, and other personal information that are used to co-sign apartment leases, write tuition and housing checks, and possibly even to register online to receive grades. The paper documents that contain this information often barely make it into a desk drawer in a college student’s room, much less into a securely locked place. The information is readily available for anyone to access.

Unfortunately, college students more typically think about protecting their personal belongings, like a laptop or mp3 player, than their personal information. Parents can help prevent their college student from becoming a target for identity theft with the following steps:

• Talk to them about all the different ways they could be scammed. The risk is not only with paper documents
unprotected in their room, but also e-mail, blogs, and casual conversation.
• Supply them with a cross-cut shredder so that they can immediately destroy documents they no longer need, as well as unsolicited (junk) mail.
• Remind them to not share passwords or other personal information with roommates or friends.
• If they really need their social security card at school, emphasize that it is critical that they keep it in a locked safe place. Supply your college student with a security box or rent a small safe deposit box from a local bank for your student to keep their valuable and personal information.

College students must also take responsibility to protect their own information. They can minimize the risk of identity theft with the following guidelines:

• As mentioned above, never share passwords or other personal information with roommates or friends.
• Don’t post personal information on social media websites.
• Don’t let someone borrow a driver’s license or ID card. They could use it in many different ways that could hurt you.
• Don’t loan a debit or credit card to a roommate or friend.
• Don’t co-sign loans, cell phone applications, or utility accounts.
• If you have a credit card, check your credit report annually.
• Lock up. Keep your apartment or dorm, car, and other property locked, and put confidential documents in a locked, secure place.

The college years can be a fun and challenging time for both parents and students; following good identity protection measures will help ensure that identity theft doesn’t become an unnecessary and painful challenge.

Baylake Bank, Member FDIC/Equal Housing Lender, serves its communities from 28 financial centers in Brown, Door, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Waupaca, and Waushara counties and from its website at www.baylake.com.  For more information call (920) 743-5551 or 1-800-267-3610.