Since September 2006, the University’s Information Technology Communications Department has offered free credit reports for students and faculty, allowing them to observe changes and be on guard for possible identity theft.
Although the University is the first of its type in the nation to offer the service, it is still vastly unused.
“The service has been pretty heavily marketed through brochures, posters, and several ads in The Reveille,” said Sheri Thompson, IT Communications and Planning Officer.
“We have talked to students in the residence halls and participated in a variety of campus events,” Thompson said.
“Still, not nearly enough students are taking advantage of it.”
The service is available on PAWS to guarantee identity authentication. Users may sign up to receive free Equifax reports after a simple phone call to verify identity. Enrollment lasts for 12 months.
“If someone else has assumed your identity and opens new credit card accounts or makes fraudulent purchases under your name, you will know through the monitoring service,” Thompson said.
Many students suffer from frequent credit problems, namely from high rates on student loans. The ability to monitor credit can give students a better idea of what types of rates to look for.
Shannon Canning, pre-nursing junior, has taken out $9,000 in student loans over two years.
“I took out my second loan through Sallie Mae,” Canning said. “The statement I received basically said that I would pay back $10,000 by the time I was done paying, and my loan was only $5,000,” she said.
For many, the concept of student loans is an unavoidable burden.
“I’m sure that I will probably take out another $5,000 to $10,000 by the time I graduate,” Canning said.
As tuition and fees increase at many universities, the number of students in debt at graduation continues to rise. Although common, many financial advisers still warn against being in debt before earning a salary.
“I think it is incredibly easy for students in our generation to get loans,” Canning said. “Many students waste their student loan money on unnecessary material things such as cars. They take out a couple thousand [dollars] here and there, but later it will cause a great financial burden,” she said.
Along with loans, students can become easy targets for identity theft by not properly disposing or withholding valuable information, such as credit card receipts and bank statements.
“Your personal information is everywhere,” Thompson said. “The free credit monitoring service provides you with the tools to monitor your credit file and thus mitigate the impact of identity theft.”
Isa Camyar, political science graduate student, was one of several Middleton Libarary employees whose social security numbers were stolen from employee documentation used for hiring purposes last year.
“Monitoring your identity and credit is worth it,” said Camyar.
One worker retrieved several social security numbers and opened credit card accounts in their names.
“Its just amazing how the guy got my social. If you know the system it’s so easy to get that information,” Camyar said.
He was unaware of the credit cards until the thief’s house was raided by police on other charges, and the cards were found.
The thief was then charged with numerous counts of identity theft and fraud. Since the incident, Camyar has signed up for the free credit monitoring through PAWS.
“People can do a lot of illegal things with information from work and school,” he said. “The service is worth paying for, but in this case, no student needs to so why not take advantage of it?”
—–Contact Wallace Levy at [email protected]