BBB warns students of ID theft

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

As college students prepare to begin fall classes, most are armed with laptops, cellphones, credit cards and personal documents — all of which can be compromised when they mingle with thousands of other students.

The Youngstown Better Business Bureau is warning that young, college-aged adults are prime targets for identity theft.

“College students have so much going on in their lives, and they’re particularly vulnerable,” said Melissa Ames of the BBB. “It can really open them up to identity theft.”

The BBB offered some basic tips to help students protect their identity, which includes having sensitive mail sent to a post-office box or parents’ home, setting the proper privacy-policy restrictions on social- networking websites, keeping computer software up to date and checking credit- and debit-card statements frequently.

Nearly 1 in 4 people who fell victim to identity theft in 2010 were between age 20 and 29, according to the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. An additional 8 percent were age 19 and under.

Young adults also are more susceptible to friendly fraud, or fraud perpetrated by those they know, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. Friendly-fraud crimes rose 7 percent last year.