Identity theft is common on college campuses, and Amarillo College is no exception.
"Computer technology has contributed to identity theft," said Sgt. Marvin Hill of the Amarillo Police Department. "There is an ongoing problem with counterfeit and forged checks and the IDs used to process those checks."
"There is a problem across the board with identity theft in the area of forged checks. Computer technology makes it easier to create the checks with the person's name and bank information and then change the photo of the ID."
According to a July National Institute of Justice report, "Identity Theft: A Research Review," "Identity theft has become perhaps the defining crime of the century."
According to "Javelin's 2005 ID Fraud Survey Report," the most common means of identity theft occurs through the use of lost or stolen wallets, credit cards or checkbooks; the thefts account for 30 percent of such crimes. An additional 12 percent of such crimes are attributed to acquaintances, friends or relatives with access to the information.
AC students should be aware, in particular, of a posted warning regarding a scholarship telemarketing scheme:
"The Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Education has become aware of a potential fraud scheme involving persons claiming to represent the U.S. Department of Education who are calling students and offering them scholarships or grants.
"These callers request a bank or credit card account number, saying the information will be used to charge a $249 processing fee."
The Department of Education does not charge a processing fee to obtain federal education grants. Do not give financial information to anyone making such claims.
When anyone receives one of the calls, they should contact the Office of Inspector General immediately.
If bank or credit card information has been relinquished, take the following steps:
1. Immediately contact the bank, explain the situation and request that the bank monitor or close the compromised account.
2. Notify police about the incident. Impersonating a federal officer, telemarketing fraud schemes and identity theft are crimes.
3. Report the fraud to the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Inspector General hotline at 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or oig.hotline@ed.gov. Special agents in the Office of Inspector General investigate fraud involving federal education dollars.
4. Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or http://www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams.
Additional steps that should be taken to protect against identity theft are available at: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/misused.
Inspector General John Higgins has released "Identity Theft Alert to Students, which suggests, "Protect your Social Security number and other personal information. Don't let identity thieves rob you of your educational future."
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