Returning home after a vacation is usually disappointing. Having to unpack and return to a daily routine is unpleasant, but coming home broke -- now that's depressing. Such was the plight of New York University (NYU) sophomore Dorian Carli-Jones, when he discovered that his bank account had gone into overdraft during a weekend getaway.

"My first reaction was 'Oh my God, did I really spend that much?' and then two seconds later, when I saw it all went to one place, I started freaking out," Dorian recounts. It was then that he realized NTL Group, a telecom company in Northern Ireland, used his identity to withdraw $259 from his checking account. To this day he is still unsure of how they broke into his account.

Dorian's case is not unique. Identity theft, or what the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines on its Web site as "When someone appropriates your personal identifying information -- like your Social Security Number (SSN) or credit card account number -- to commit fraud or theft," is the fastest-growing crime in the nation. It affects a staggering 10 million Americans, according to the FTC. And as a 20-year-old, Dorian belongs to the age group that filed the most complaints with the FTC in 2005 -- 29 percent were consumers ages 18 to 29.

Watch Who You Trust
"Young people are more likely to be in situations where they share an apartment with several roommates, increasing their risk of theft," said Beth Givens, director of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a non-profit educational and advocacy program on  

identity theft

 .Aside from missing money from an account, like Dorian's case, other signs of potential identity theft include missing or unusual mail, and unsolicited phone calls about purchases made in your name.

An identity thief could purchase property, cars, or cell phones, or close out your personal checking and/or savings accounts if you miss or ignore the early signs. Receiving unsolicited credit cards, being denied credit, or being offered less favorable credit terms, like a high interest rate, are other signs of possible victimization.

Of the complaints included in the 2006 Identity Fraud Survey Report released by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Javelin Study Research Group, the largest group of thieves -- 47 percent - were friends, relatives, neighbors or coworkers of the victim. And to make a monetary or property gain, identity thieves take advantage of lost or stolen wallets, checkbooks, and credit cards, according to the BBB and Javelin Study Research Group's study.

Don't Get Trashed
"Dumpster diving," or rifling through trash for unshredded documents with personal information, is one tactic of identity thieves. This means bad news for the half of all college-age students who receive credit card applications regularly and discard them without destroying them, according to the FTC's Web site. Identity thieves also take advantage of the postal system by stealing mail from unlocked mailboxes, or by sending the post office a forwarding address and receiving the mail at their own addresses.

Mind Your PINs and Passwords
Some identity thieves go straight to a source of money -- by rigging ATMs with "skimmers" used to capture users' account information to create counterfeit cards. Fred Wong, 20, believed he used a rigged ATM last Thanksgiving when he discovered $500 had been withdrawn from his account at an ATM in New York, while he was visiting family in Tennessee. He only noticed the theft while checking his balance online before hitting the post-Turkey Day sales. "Someone got my info from when I bought something in New York," Fred says.

"It's much safer to use a bank ATM because many of these kiosk ATMs are run by third-party companies and you have to question who's operating them," explains Ray Ricks, who served as a financial security consultant with Citibank for 17 years. "The ATM may be collecting information from your bank or credit card -- there's information it can capture intentionally like your name, card number, and PIN." Because some ATMs are not affiliated with an FDIC bank (which means it's federally insured and meets government standards), it's hard to ensure that your PIN remains encrypted as it does at a bank ATM, he explains. "There have been organized crime groups that have actually run some of these kiosk networks. Use third party ATMs with great caution."

Once it's clear that money or banking information is stolen, notes Bivens, swift action is key. "Contact the financial institution that that particular card is associated with, then close that account and get a new one immediately."

Don't Type Away Your Identity
Another kind of identity theft on the rise can happen with the click of a mouse. A major threat is "phishing," a type of Internet fraud, where tech savvy thieves posing as reputable companies request personal information via e-mail. They appear authentic by creating look-alike Web sites for companies like PayPal, eBay, or Chase Bank. Between 2004 and 2005, complaints of Internet fraud rose by 12 percent, with losses more than doubling and affecting those 29 and under the most, according to the National Consumer League's (NCL) National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch 2005. Young adults were duped by false scholarships and grants, travel and vacations offers, free loans, and credit card offers.

Givens advises caution when checking e-mails. "Delete any message that says it's from your bank, PayPal, eBay, etc., if they ask you to visit its Web site and provide account information and/or a social security number (SSN). A legitimate financial company will never ask customers to do that," she warns. "Phishing messages these days look like the real thing. They are very sophisticated."

Special Campus Concerns
Virtual-world thieves also target college campuses -- students' SSNs, account numbers, and driver's license numbers from databases have been illegally accessed from private computer records. Of data breaches in the U.S. in 2005, which indirectly and directly affected more than 57.7 million individuals, almost half were at education institutions, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.

"In dorm and roommate situations, your mail and personal papers can get into the hands of others. Unfortunately, not everyone is honest," says Givens. "It's best to take precautions...If you don't have a desk drawer that you can lock, get a locking box from an office supply store and keep sensitive financial and personal documents in it."

Even when professionals aren't hacking, many schools make students' personal information accessible. Nearly half of the nation's colleges use SSNs as identification numbers, according to a 2002 survey by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Plus, almost half of college students have their grades posted by their SSN, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General's Web site. Some schools are now implementing randomly assigned student identification numbers, and Arizona, California, New York and Wisconsin have laws restricting colleges from using and displaying SSNs.

Most school's Web sites warn against identity theft threats and some help out when students become victims. NYU gave Dorian a loan so he could go on his scheduled trip to Spain. "It was a relief knowing that NYU was willing to help out," he explains.

More than $680 million in losses from fraud were reported in 2005, and with name-snatchers and SSN-stealers finding new ways of acquiring information, and increasing numbers of identity theft being reported, it's even more necessary to be cautious. With his financial life back in order, Dorian reflects, "My advice would be to maintain constant vigilance over your money and know where it's going."

Prevention Tactics
"It isn't always a matter of not getting your card stolen," Fred says, remembering the two weeks it took him to get his finances in order. "It is also about keeping good, safe records and being smart about how you use your information."

• You can stop receiving unsolicited credit card applications by calling the hotline run by the three major credit bureaus (888-567-8688). To be removed from lists, you must provide your Social Security Number (SSN).


• Another number to keep handy is the U.S. Postal Service (800-275-8777). Use it to stop your mail delivery while you're away for an extended time. It will be held until you can pick it up, or you can request its redelivery upon your return.

Keep Secrets

• Passwords should be used for everything -- credit cards, bank, and phone accounts. Varying passwords and using complex combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols is also a must.


• Carrying a SSN card around is just asking for trouble. Give out your SSN sparingly, and if possible substitute other identifiers. Similar to college identification numbers, many state and corporate organizations accept substitutes for SSNs.


• To keep up with virtual predators, use virus protection software, use updated firewalls and anti-spyware software. For optimal online privacy, use only secure browsers -- ones that encrypt or scramble information sent over the Internet.

Helpful Web Sites

• To get your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, visit www.annual creditreport.com, or call 877-322-8228.


• File claims with the FTC by visiting www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or calling the hotline 877-438-4338.

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