Affinion Security Center Helps College Students Fend Off Identity Thieves

NORWALK, Conn., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Affinion Security Center, a leading provider of identity theft protection services, announced today a list of tips for college students to help prevent identity theft. According to Javelin Research & Strategy, "Millenials," ages 18-24, are more likely than other age groups to be severely injured or highly affected when they are victims of identity theft.

College students are especially attractive targets for identity thieves because they have unblemished credit records, making it easier for thieves to take out loans in their name. Additionally, many students may not realize the potential for fraud and do not guard personal information as closely as they should. Student's Social Security Numbers may be listed on everything from dorm identification cards to report cards, making it easy for this information to fall into the hands of thieves. Universities and colleges have also come under attack from hackers in recent years as the value of the information they store has been recognized. Approximately 100 universities and colleges have reported data breaches since 2005, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

"Our goal is to help educate consumers and make it more difficult for identity thieves to succeed," said Tom Rusin, CEO and President of Affinion Security Center. "While our services can help students protect themselves through the detection and resolution of identity thefts, there are some simple steps that students can take to minimize their risk."

As part of Affinion Security Center's goal of helping to reduce the incidence of identity theft in the U.S., the company has provided the following tips for college students.

Tips for College Students on How to Avoid Identity Theft

1. A Must-Have for Back-To-School: A Shredder
Shredding can help ensure that papers with personal information are properly disposed of and do not fall into the wrong hands. Anything that has a student's name and address on it should be shredded in a cross-cut shredder to be safe, including credit card offers, bills and financial statements. If you don't have one in your dorm room, check with student affairs to see if they can provide you access to one.
2. Check Credit Card Statements Regularly, Credit Monitoring is a Helpful Tool
Students should check credit card and bank statements monthly if not more frequently for any unusual activity. A credit monitoring service can be a valuable tool in fighting and detecting identity theft, helping alert students when any new accounts are opened in their name.
3. Open Sesame . . .
While it can be difficult to remember so many different passwords, it is essential to create "strong" passwords. A strong password is one that is not easy to guess and it should include both numbers and capital letters, and possibly characters as well.
4. Don't Share Passwords
While it can be tempting, especially when living in group apartments or dorm rooms to share personal information, students should never share debit card PIN numbers, passwords or social security numbers with anyone, or leave any documents with personal identifiable information lying around.
5. Protect Your Computer
As it's possible that students have purchased new computers, it's good practice to enable all security features and keep anti-virus and spyware protection up to date. Also, utilize a password locking system on your computer if it is left on while you are not sitting in front of it.
6. Don't take the bait
College students, while technically savvy, can fall victim to scams. They should beware of phishing scams -- emails that appear to be from legitimate organizations asking the recipient to update their personal information -- with the sender intending to steal their identity to commit fraud.

For more information about Affinion Security Center solutions, please visit http://www.affinionsecuritycenter.com

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About Affinion Security Center
Affinion Security Center, a division of Norwalk, Connecticut-based Affinion Group, is a global leader in providing identity protection and data security solutions to corporations and individuals. For over 35 years Affinion Security Center has been powering many of the world's leading personal data protection and breach resolution solutions offered by local, national and multi-national enterprises in the financial, retail and travel industries. The company currently protects over 10 million subscribers with services including IdentitySecure, PrivacyGuard, PC SafetyPlus and Hotline, and serves enterprise and government agencies with the data breach preparation and response tool, BreachShield. Affinion Security Center is part of the steering committee of the Identity Theft Prevention and Identity Management Standards Panel (IDSP) and is a member of the Staples Security Council. For more information please visit www.affinionsecuritycenter.com.