2008 Woodie Awards
Experts offer hints to prevent identity theft
Kallayan Thuch
Issue date: 5/15/08 Section: News
A LBCC employee got a hold of employees' personal information in April.
Had the suspect not been caught, the identity thief could have purchased items for themselves in the name of those whose information was taken.
In 2006, the Federal Trade Commission estimated that 2.8 million people were victims of identity theft. The U.S Postal Service reports that identity theft is on the rise. About 9.9 million people became victims of identity theft last year.
LBCC student Eric Smith said, "I think it's kind of strange how people can buy things in your name. I know a teacher who had his identity stolen. Someone bought cars in his name and my teacher had to get a lawyer to track down the crook."
The school will offer CBIS 270: Introduction to Information Security, a one-unit, nine-week online course focused on providing tips to students on how to protect their personal information.
John Hugunin, the teacher offering the class, said Tuesday, May 13 he believes the online curriculum would be useful to students enrolled.
He said, "I think the online nature of the class will expose students to better and more up-to-date information and will help students protect themselves from hackers and potential threats of identify theft."
Students and employees can protect themselves from such a crime.
The FBI instructs ways in which people can protect their name:
Never give out information such as Social Security numbers to unsolicited phone callers. Make it so all credit card and bank statements remain online. If statements are not disposed of properly, it can be found by crooks who go dumpster-diving for the information.
Block everyone's view when entering a PIN at an ATM.
The U.S Postal Service has more tips on prevention:
People should view their credit report frequently.
Mail should not be left in the mailbox overnight.
Elsewhere, the California Student Aid Commission advises:
The Social Security card should not be carried everywhere a person goes.
Be very wary of random people who ask for personal information.
For the Internet, American Association of Retired Persons lists the following:
Never enter sensitive information if prompted by an e-mail. Go to an official site to confirm the requirement instead. People can use fake e-mails to "phish" out information from their victims.
For more security, the "http://" of a site should be changed to "https://" to make it more difficult for thieves to steal information.
Don't trust strangers online easily. Crooks can gain information and jeopardize security.
Don't list real answers to security questions for e-mails and bank accounts.
Real bank or credit-card companies will never ask for sensitive information out of nowhere.
By following the steps above and doing further research, people could avoid having their lives destroyed by identity theft, experts said.
Had the suspect not been caught, the identity thief could have purchased items for themselves in the name of those whose information was taken.
In 2006, the Federal Trade Commission estimated that 2.8 million people were victims of identity theft. The U.S Postal Service reports that identity theft is on the rise. About 9.9 million people became victims of identity theft last year.
LBCC student Eric Smith said, "I think it's kind of strange how people can buy things in your name. I know a teacher who had his identity stolen. Someone bought cars in his name and my teacher had to get a lawyer to track down the crook."
The school will offer CBIS 270: Introduction to Information Security, a one-unit, nine-week online course focused on providing tips to students on how to protect their personal information.
John Hugunin, the teacher offering the class, said Tuesday, May 13 he believes the online curriculum would be useful to students enrolled.
He said, "I think the online nature of the class will expose students to better and more up-to-date information and will help students protect themselves from hackers and potential threats of identify theft."
Students and employees can protect themselves from such a crime.
The FBI instructs ways in which people can protect their name:
Never give out information such as Social Security numbers to unsolicited phone callers. Make it so all credit card and bank statements remain online. If statements are not disposed of properly, it can be found by crooks who go dumpster-diving for the information.
Block everyone's view when entering a PIN at an ATM.
The U.S Postal Service has more tips on prevention:
People should view their credit report frequently.
Mail should not be left in the mailbox overnight.
Elsewhere, the California Student Aid Commission advises:
The Social Security card should not be carried everywhere a person goes.
Be very wary of random people who ask for personal information.
For the Internet, American Association of Retired Persons lists the following:
Never enter sensitive information if prompted by an e-mail. Go to an official site to confirm the requirement instead. People can use fake e-mails to "phish" out information from their victims.
For more security, the "http://" of a site should be changed to "https://" to make it more difficult for thieves to steal information.
Don't trust strangers online easily. Crooks can gain information and jeopardize security.
Don't list real answers to security questions for e-mails and bank accounts.
Real bank or credit-card companies will never ask for sensitive information out of nowhere.
By following the steps above and doing further research, people could avoid having their lives destroyed by identity theft, experts said.
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samiullah
posted 8/07/08 @ 5:31 AM PST
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