How safe is your identity?
E-mails and credit card applications are perfect resources for identity thieves
Catherine Klene
Issue date: 8/22/08 Section: News
When students hit their eighteenth birthday, some may get birthday cards in the mail, but many others get appealing applications for credit card offers.
While some sign up for the buy now, pay later promise, others pitch the unopened envelopes into the trashcan along with a handful of weekly ads. But those unopened envelopes can easily be picked out of the garbage and used to make plenty of purchases - at the addressee's expense.
SIUE Police Lt. Kevin Schmoll said identity theft is when someone's personal information is used illegally or fraudulently, usually for financial gain.
Schmoll said if students aren't going to use the credit card applications, they should shred them instead of tossing them in the trash. If students do sign up for credit cards, Schmoll said the fewer they have, the easier they are to manage.
"Limit yourself to maybe one or two credit cards, or none if it's at all possible," Schmoll said.
Credit card applications through the mail are only part of the identity theft problem. The ever-increasing use of the Internet to exchange personal information is quickly becoming a quick grab for identity thieves prowling for bank account numbers, social security numbers and other personal information.
Schmoll said people often put personal information on Web sites such as Facebook or Myspace, and people also purchase more things online using credit card numbers and personal information, making it more accessible to identity thieves.
"If you do make purchases online, make sure it's a secure site," Schmoll said.
Schmoll also said identity thieves can send deceptive e-mails requesting bank account numbers or social security numbers.
Becky Yarbrough is the center manager for the Cougar Banking Center, the SIUE Bank of Edwardsville branch in the Morris University Center. Yarbrough said students are most susceptible to online identity theft.
"What I see the most at the center is the credit card number or the debit number being stolen online," Yarbrough said.
While some sign up for the buy now, pay later promise, others pitch the unopened envelopes into the trashcan along with a handful of weekly ads. But those unopened envelopes can easily be picked out of the garbage and used to make plenty of purchases - at the addressee's expense.
SIUE Police Lt. Kevin Schmoll said identity theft is when someone's personal information is used illegally or fraudulently, usually for financial gain.
Schmoll said if students aren't going to use the credit card applications, they should shred them instead of tossing them in the trash. If students do sign up for credit cards, Schmoll said the fewer they have, the easier they are to manage.
"Limit yourself to maybe one or two credit cards, or none if it's at all possible," Schmoll said.
Credit card applications through the mail are only part of the identity theft problem. The ever-increasing use of the Internet to exchange personal information is quickly becoming a quick grab for identity thieves prowling for bank account numbers, social security numbers and other personal information.
Schmoll said people often put personal information on Web sites such as Facebook or Myspace, and people also purchase more things online using credit card numbers and personal information, making it more accessible to identity thieves.
"If you do make purchases online, make sure it's a secure site," Schmoll said.
Schmoll also said identity thieves can send deceptive e-mails requesting bank account numbers or social security numbers.
Becky Yarbrough is the center manager for the Cougar Banking Center, the SIUE Bank of Edwardsville branch in the Morris University Center. Yarbrough said students are most susceptible to online identity theft.
"What I see the most at the center is the credit card number or the debit number being stolen online," Yarbrough said.
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