I am a recent Communications graduate (Dec03)and thought this would be of interest to the Loyola community. Please email me your guidlines on printing alumni sumbissions.-Durrell Marvin

As a direct result of the current identity theft surge, the Office of Student Records at Loyola University, is in the process of developing a new identification system and have discontinued including social security numbers on student ID cards.Although the university affirms no reported cases of student identity theft in its history, the change is designed to protect Loyola’s student body, according to the registrar’s office.Kathy Gros, Director of Registration Services, has worked in student records since 1979 and maintains that Loyola students are “absolutely safe,” when it comes to student document privacy. “Hopefully, by the fall of 2004, all Loyola students will have a new student ID, which will replace their social security number in our system. Students will be able to either use their new ID or social security number to access their records,” Gros said.Steven Spielberg’s movie, Catch Me If You Can, sensationalized the offense of identity theft by portraying the act as adventurous, exciting and even amusing, although the reality of the transgression is certainly not. For the victim of an identity theft assault, it is the beginning of a long process. A process that require the victim to initiates the exhausting task of proving to creditors, collection agencies and law enforcement officials that they are in fact who they say they are.According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft currently tops the list of consumer complaints nationwide, and college students are rapidly becoming the newest targets, due in part to their social security number accessibility.Identity theft is currently the fastest growing white-collar crime in the country, according to the FTC. Survey results from the agency released in early September confirmed that 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the last five years. Last year alone, 9.9 million people have suffered the consequences of the crime, reveals published documents. While Loyola officials claim reported cases of identity theft on its campus, recently there have been numerous incidents at universities around the country regarding college students having their identity stolen, causing their finances to fall into temporary ruin.”A college student can be an identity thief’s dream, because they don’t realize how easy it is to gain access to pertinent financial information,” says Valencia Luke, assistant to the Director of Registration Services at Loyola. “We’ve never had a problem with it specifically coming from our office, although it’s possible. It is definitely possible, but it’s never happened before.” Some of the possible factors that could contribute to a college student being at higher risk of having personal information stolen are attributed to the fact that “students receive credit card solicitations almost weekly and they irresponsibly discarded of them and debit cards receipts are regularly tossed to the ground without concern. Even old, unused deposit slips can be used to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals,” Luke said.The registrar’s office contends that they have and will continue to do everything in their power to prevent student records to be used in fraudulent ways. Gros continued to stress the importance for students to educate themselves on financial matters.”Unfortunately, in this stage of life, young adults spend their time concerned with other things, and a sound financial future isn’t one of them,” Gros said. Beside the current changes in the registrar’s office policies, all colleges and universities in the U.S. must follow the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Passed by Congress in 1974, FERPA grants rights, designed specifically for the protection of the student, and restricts the attainment of student’s records to anyone other than the student. “All student records are protected under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Prior to faculty, staff or administration gaining access to our student record system, the federal government requires the completion of the FERPA quiz,” Gros said.The quiz is a short tutorial on the rights of the student and is designed to give employees of the registrar’s office a basic working knowledge on the proper handling in regards to surrendering student regards. However, even with federal guidelines and new university initiatives, it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to understand the seriousness of fraudulent crime and the effects that it could have on their future endeavors, if they found themselves to be the victim of identity theft. All students need to realize that it is imperative for them to actively protect themselves from becoming vulnerable to this offence, “by keeping close tabs on all financial information,” according to Gros.”Never give anyone your social security number or your pin to log onto accounts, whether it is Loyola’s online records or any other accounts that require a PIN.”Despite the lack of financial knowledge, more assistance is in sight for the college student. At present, new programs are being developed to create more awareness of identity theft, as well as to provide assistance to those who have already fallen victim to the crime. Organizations like the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) provide fraud and consumer alerts, victim resources and training programs on their website (at www.idtheftcenter).Founded in January 1999, by Jay and Linda Foley, the ITRC is a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and implementing a comprehensive program against identity theft. They too are concerned about college student’s nonchalant attitude toward financial information.”They’re not thinking of the dangers of the world around them,” says Jay Foley, ITRC’s Director of Consumer and Victim Services. “They’re still in the ‘I am invincible’ stage of their lives.” According to the ITRC’s website, “900,000 new victims of identity theft reported are reported each year in America.” Individual responsibility is the most powerful tool available to keep students out of that statistic. The bottom line is even though the victim doesn’t make the mess, he is still ultimately responsible for cleaning it up.For more information about Identity Theft, visit the Identity Theft Resource Center at http:// www.idtheftcenter.org. The Federal Trade Commission can be accessed at http:// www.ftc.gov.