St. Louis, Mo., September 7, 2023 – If you have a college student who just started classes, now’s a good time to talk about preventing fraud while they’re on campus. Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) recommends students take a few simple steps to protect themselves from identity theft and other fraud.
Young adults may be targeted by fraudsters because they are often less experienced with credit and finances, and are navigating financial life events like loans, scholarships or budgeting for the first time.
“Identity theft can affect students as much or more than their parents,” said Michelle L. Corey, BBB St. Louis president and CEO. “Sometimes all thieves want is to exploit your clean credit record. By establishing good habits for monitoring and detecting fraud, students can greatly reduce their chance of being a victim of ID theft.”
According to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, 11,904 cases of federal student loan fraud were reported in 2022. The FTC also reported that people under the age of 30 lost nearly $525 million to fraud last year.
BBB’s 2022 Scam Tracker℠ Risk Report found that students were slightly more likely to lose money in a scam and reported a slightly higher median dollar loss than non-students. People ages 18-24 reported the highest median dollar loss of all age groups in 2022.
Tips for students to fight identity theft and fraud:
- Send sensitive mail to a permanent address. School mailboxes are not always secure. Have important documents sent to a parent’s home or a post office box.
- Lock up important docs. Store documents like your Social Security card, passport and bank statements somewhere safe. Shred any paper documents that have sensitive financial information before you throw them away.
- Keep your cards safe. Don’t lend your credit or debit card to anyone, even a friend. Don’t cosign on a loan or financing with a friend. And when you’re entering your PIN, keep an eye out for “shoulder surfers.”
- Protect your devices. Make sure your devices have up-to-date antivirus and anti-spyware software. Keep up with patches to your operating system or browser software, which help protect your devices from new scam tactics.
- Check accounts for suspicious activity. The sooner you identify any potential fraud, the less you’ll suffer in the long run – so check your financial accounts frequently.
- Check out companies with BBB. Consumers tell BBB that online shopping scams are the most common way they lose money or personal information. When you’re shopping online, use org to make sure unfamiliar websites are legitimate. Look for secure websites with a padlock icon and “https://” in the URL.
- Keep up with your credit. Check your credit report for suspicious activity or mistakes. You can do this once a year for free at com.
For more advice on fighting fraud, visit BBB.org or call 888-996-3887.
