A Federal Trade Commission study found that younger people who reported scams to the agency in 2018 reported losing money significantly more often than older consumers. College-aged consumers who fell for financial scams in 2018 had a median loss of around $400.
Many young people may believe that they are safe from scams because they are more web-savvy than older consumers, but con artists still tend to hit victims hardest by phone (nearly 70% of 2018 fraud reports to the FTC involved contacts by phone).
College students face a number of identity theft and scam risks on campus:
- College students bring armfuls of computers, mobile devices and personal documents to campus. In the wrong hands, any of these items could be a gold mine for an identity thief.
- Campus living introduces unique ID theft risks for young adults, many of whom have never been solely responsible for protecting their sensitive information and devices.
- Students face tempting credit card offers, requests for personal info on official forms, and bustling shared living spaces.
- The key to staying protected is to limit the sharing of personal information and to lock down devices and sensitive documents.
Students can minimize the risk of identity theft by following these simple tips:
Don’t:
- Carry your Social Security card in your wallet.
- Shop online or pay bills on a public computer, through an unsecured website, or on an unsecured Wi-Fi network.
- Give solicitors any personal financial information or your Social Security number.
- Post personal details on social media.
Do:
- Keep your room locked and keep documents containing personally identifiable information (PII) out of sight, preferably in a lockbox or locked drawer.
- Make sure that your devices are set to require a passcode or fingerprint to login.
- Shred pre-approved credit card offers and any unnecessary bills and paperwork that contain PII.
- Put mail directly in U.S. Postal Service mailboxes instead of unsecured campus mailboxes.
Scam education is not about knowing the intricacies of each and every fraudulent operation. The best way for students to stay protected is to familiarize themselves with some of the main fraud types and to learn how to spot the common “red flags” that run through these operations. Common red flags include:
- Requests from strangers for personally identifiable information. Never share sensitive information in an unsolicited phone call or in response to an unsolicited email or text message.
- Requests for wire transfers. Never wire money to someone you don’t know.
- Requests for payment by prepaid debit or gift cards. Government agencies and utilities will never request payment by iTunes or Google Play gift cards.
- Requests from strangers to cash a check and send them back a portion. The check is fake. You will be on the hook for the full amount and any fees when the bank discovers the fraud.
