Identity Theft among Students - Assignment Example

In the technology age of today, thieves have learned how to steal almost anything they want from a person. They have developed advanced ways to take anything they want from you, and now are cracking even into the digital realm to steal our most personal information. These thieves have also targeted a group of people who don't always know exactly how to protect all their private information, and this had lead to an increase in the cases of identity theft among students. Identity theft can include people stealing several different kinds of information from you, and using it to assume your identity.

They can then max out credit cards or take out loans using information they could have asked you for, taken from documents, or stolen from transactions online. This can lead to horrible problems for the person's identity whose is stole, as it can be a tedious task to try to track down the person who is pretending to be you. As student based marketing and research expands, so do the opportunities for people to steal all kinds of information from students who may not even know they are being tricked.

Cases are especially springing up among college students, who fill out loads of paperwork and are also on their feet for the first time in their lives. The problem of identity theft is getting so bad that the "The United States Federal Trade Commission says that identity theft is America's largest consumer complaint" (http://www.scambusters.org/identitytheft/collegestudentsguide.html. These college students offer a prime target for the identity theft schemes. Students who are looking for loans, new credit cards, or are simply unaware of how to protect their personal information make for an easy candidate to get their identity stolen.

Students also often do not know that identity theft can affect "your credit rating, criminal record, future borrowing possibilities, as well as your job opportunities (http://www.scambusters.org/identitytheft/collegestudentsguide.html). College students also find it odd that they may be targets for identity theft when they feel that they are safe at school and don't have a lot of information that thieves could steal from them. That however could not be farther from the truth. Students are often among the most targeted.

Students often commit many things that leave them wide open to identify theft, such as : 1. "Living on campus in dorms or with roommates. 2. Ordering clothes, books, movies, lava lamps, ping pong balls, or any other merchandise over the Internet. 3. Throwing away credit card offers without shredding them into a million pieces. 4. Being careless with student loan pin numbers and documentation. 5. Using cell phones to talk about things that might be useful for an identity thief to hear."( http://www.

scambusters.org/identitytheft/collegestudentsguide.html. All of these seemingly innocent acts however leave students wide open for an invasion of privacy which may lead to the theft of their identity. This is why students are targeted by criminal organizations as prime targets for their schemes to steal people's identities. Only by understanding identity theft, and learning about it, can students hope to protect themselves from having their own identity stolen. Identity Theft Among Students I.

Introduction to Identity Theft a. Definition of Identity Theft b. Kinds of Identity Theft c. Who is affected II. Identity Theft Among Students a. High School Students b. College Students III. How Identity Theft Works a. How thieves can steal your information b. Information they want to take from you IV. Way to Avoid Identity Theft a. How to protect your personal information b. How to know if your identity has been stolen V. What to do if your identity has been stolen a. First Response for identity Theft b.

Don't Panic-You can get yourself back VI. Identity Theft-Inform others a. Other groups at risk b. How wide spread is identity Theft VII. Conclusion