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Are Your College Students Prepared to Safely Guard Their Personal Information? Identity Theft Expert Weighs in on How to Keep Students' Identity Safe

Syracuse, NY (PRWEB) August 22, 2007 -- As the summer of 2007 comes to a close, thousands of students all over the United States are preparing to leave for college, many for their first time. Parents of these students have been preparing them for this big step, in many ways, from the time they taught their children to look both ways before crossing the street. But have they taught these young adults how important it is to keep their personal information safe? Have they taught them the many ways in which an identity thief, who may be living in their dorm, can take this information and use it in ways that can wreak havoc on a credit report, banking accounts and credit card accounts, to name just a few?

Michael J. Durnack, identity theft expert and President and CEO of Identity Defense says that it is of vital importance that you teach your children to guard their personal information and be aware of the simple but effective ways criminals can obtain this information to use in a fraudulent manner. Durnack said, "Young people can be especially susceptible to this kind of crime. They are very trusting and have that 'it will never happen to me' attitude that leaves them extremely susceptible to identity theft." He goes on to say, "Parents need to teach their college bound children how to properly safeguard this information. Many times the parents need to learn these methods for themselves as well. These are important lessons for everyone to learn and apply to anyone."

"A very important first step for parents is to understand their own vulnerabilities," said Durnack "go to our website, www.IdentityDefense.com and take the free quiz which provides you with an analysis of your own unsafe habits, and you will then receive your own ID Risk Level. That risk level is based solely on you and will determine your risk for identity theft." Identity Defense's proprietary ID risk assessment categorizes the threat level of an individual's risk to identity theft. When the assigned ID Risk Level has been determined, personalized recommendations for modifying habits and behaviors to reduce risk are offered with Identity Defense's Customized Personal Report (CPR). The process is simple, customized and gives the consumer insight on how to control their personal information based on their day to day habits.

Below are steps that Durnack says parents can teach their children as they begin the process of learning to keep their personal information safe from identity thieves while away from home.

?Do not write your pin number on your ATM card and don't ever tell a roommate the pin number or let a friend conduct a transaction for you.

?Keep your dorm room or apartment locked when no one is there and don't leave financial statements lying around out in the open where anyone can pick it up and walk off with it.

?Be wary of new acquaintances, identity theft is not a back alley crime and is often committed by someone the victim knows.

?Stop credit card offers now by assisting your student in the process of "opting out," and call 1-888-5opt-out or at www.optoutprescreen.com. These offers in the mail are like cash to a thief. Any credit card offers they receive in the mail need to be shredded. Have them bring these offers home with them along with their dirty laundry and you shred them to verify it's done properly.

?Don't give out any information in response to an unknown or unsolicited email. The email may look like it's from a bank or credit card company, but it can be a phishing scam. The same is true for information requested over the phone.

?If you have set your student up with their own bank accounts, be sure to have them subscribe to online services to allow them instant access to their information and then have them check it frequently. They should receive their bank statements online instead of paper statements through the mail.

?If your student has a MySpace or FaceBook page, review it with them and remove any personal information that could be used by a thief.

?Peer to peer file sharing or P2P is what many students use to share music files. Unfortunately it can also be an open book to their computer and personal information. Explain the danger in this and have them set up an account with a safe pay site instead.

?Cell phones along with the latest iPhone are being used by your student as a personal library. Your tech savvy student is likely using it not for just phone numbers, but for many other forms of personal information to have available at their fingertips. They need to protect this device like their wallet or purse and recognize that to an identity thief the value is not in the phone but in the information it contains.

Like many other things that parents teach their children, being aware is one of the most important things you can do to protect your personal information. Your student needs to understand they are becoming part of one of the highest targeted groups for identity thieves.

IdentityDefense.com is a consultancy committed to helping individuals defend their identity from theft and fraud. An innovative and proprietary set of tools have been developed to help quantify vulnerability and create personalized recommendations for modifying habits and behaviors to reduce risk with Identity Defense's Customized Personal Report (CPR). These tools are provided to individuals online at www.IdentityDefense.com and also offered directly to financial institutions, credit unions, and financial planners to offer their customers tangible Identity Defense solutions.

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