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Volume 40, Issue 13
April 22, 2003
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April 22, 2003
Identity thieves target
the
college crowd
By Susana
Santa Cruz
For the Mesa Legend
This year there will be 700,000 victims of the country’s
growing white collar crime, identity theft, and college students are at
high risk of becoming a victim.
Arizona falls third in numbers of identity theft victims.
College students are a convenient target for these criminals because “people
starting out their careers are too busy,” said Bob Hartle, a victim
of identity theft who operates a non-profit organization with his wife
to aid victims of the crime.
The Hartles also teach a class through the Continuing Education Department
on the issue.
People who are starting out their careers are too busy to check their
accounts, work history, and credit reports for false information, according
to Hartle, and criminals know this.
All it takes is a name, address, and social security number to steal one’s
identity and organizations people deal with everyday make it possible
for these criminals to obtain this information.
It takes patience for a victim to recover and it can take years to find
out one’s identity is being used by someone else.
Technology makes information easily accessible for criminals to commit
payroll check fraud, obtain a fraudulent driver’s license, purchase
a home under a different name, and so on.
Checking credit reports for wrong information at least once a year as
well as checking work history can help safeguard against identity theft.
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