Identity Theft and Student Rosters
Beware of Student Rosters and Identity Theft
So you’ve arrived at college and you need to put your name down on a student roster for one reason or another. The problem is, the roster is asking for more information than just your name. It also has a place for your social security number. Before you fill out the information, you might want to consider the fact that you’re putting yourself at risk of identity theft if you do.
Unfortunately it’s Not Uncommon
Unfortunately it’s not uncommon for student rosters to require personal information such as social security numbers. Because of this, more and more identity theft thieves are targeting these rosters as a means of getting the information they need in order to commit identity theft. What they’ll do is wait until the roster is almost full, then they’ll go up to it when no one is around and copy down all of the information on the roster, making all of the people who have signed up potential victims of identity theft.
Protect Yourself
If you see a student roster that requires personal information such as social security numbers, bring it to the attention of the school faculty. Let them know that this is putting students at risk of identity theft. Also make sure you don’t put your social security number on there. Instead write in 000-00-0000 or “will furnish upon request” when that information is called for. This will help ensure that you don’t end up as the victim of identity theft.