PROTECTING YOUR COLLEGE CO-ED'S IDENTITY

ANCHOR LEAD:
BY NOW, WE'VE ALL HEARD ABOUT THE DANGERS OF IDENTITY THEFT. BUT DO YOU
KNOW ABOUT THE CAMPUS CONNECTION? A NEW STUDY FINDS COLLEGE KIDS ARE MOST AT
RISK.WE'LL SHOW YOU THE LATEST "MUST HAVE" FOR YOUR COLLEGE CO-ED TO MAKE SURE HE OR SHE DOESN'T LEAVE A SHRED OF PERSONAL INFORMATION AROUND FOR PRYING EYES.

TRACK ONE Length: 10
LAST YEAR AT COLLEGE, ERIC LEONHARD (sounds like leonard) GOT A LESSON HE NEVER
WANTED TO LEARN. SOMEONE STOLE HIS BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER AND USED IT TO SIGN
UP FOR A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION TO A WEBSITE.

SOT
KEY @: 12 Eric Leonhard, College Student
"I had been billed $25 evenly for 8 months, making a total of $200."

TRACK TWO Length: 12
SOURCE: Identity Theft Victim Complaint Data: Figures and Trends January 1-December 31, 2005
ERIC IS NOT THE ONLY CO-ED HIT BY IDENTITY THEFT… ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL TRADE
COMMISSION, 18 TO 29 YEAR OLDS HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE OF IDENTITY THEFT ---NEARLY
70,000 COMPLAINTS FILED LAST YEAR ALONE.

SOT
KEY @:28 ( SHORT)Linda Foley,Identity Theft Resource Center
"Identity theft is a crime of opportunity."

TRACK THREE Length: 06
AND LINDA FOLEY WITH THE IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCE CENTER SAYS THERE'S PLENTY OF
OPPORTUNITY ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

SOT
KEY @:37 Linda Foley, Identity Theft Resource Center
"They leave their bills sitting on table tops which means that person has access to credit card numbers."

SOT
KEY @: 47 Eric Leonhard, College Student
"I was living in a residence hall at the time. My roommate had a lot of friends over, I had a lot of friends over. I imagine it would not be too hard for someone to come across my information somehow."

TRACK FOUR Length: 11
SOME SCHOOLS EVEN REQUIRE STUDENTS TO PUT THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ON
TERM PAPERS AND EXAMS! TO CUT THE RISK, FOLEY SAYS THERE'S ONE ITEM EVERYCOLLEGE CO-ED SHOULD ADD TO THEIR BACK-TO-SCHOOL LIST.

SOT
NO KEY
"A cross cut shredder is a vital piece of equipment."

TRACK FIVE Length: 10
FOLEY SAYS STUDENTS SHOULD SHRED ANY OLD BILLS, CREDIT CARD AND BANK
STATEMENTS, JUNK MAIL SOLICITATIONS… AND ANYTHING WITH THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY
NUMBER ON IT. FOR PAPERWORK THEY NEED TO KEEP…

SOT
NO KEY
"Have a locked box where they're keeping their bills, they're keeping their social security card."

TRACK SIX Length: 04
AFTER HIS INCIDENT, ERIC DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE ANYMORE CHANCES.

SOT
NO KEY
"I invested in a paper shredder to eliminate bills and that sort of thing, so no one else could read them. That's something I use religiously now."

ANCHOR TAG:
FOLEY SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT TO SHRED ANY DOCUMENTS WITH PERSONAL INFORMATION AS
SOON AS YOU'RE DONE WITH THEM. SHE ADDS, STUDENTS MAY WANT TO HAVE PAPER BILLS SENT HOME AND USE ONLINE BILL PAY INSTEAD. BUT SHE WARNS… IF YOU DO
THAT, MAKE SURE YOUR LAPTOP IS PASSWORD PROTECTED.

SOURCE INFORMATION:
FOR CLIENT-STATION USE ONLY
The information provided below is for client-station use only. It is provided to help you obtain answers to any additional questions you
may have and to help you localize a story. This private contact information, including phone numbers, addresses and email addresses, cannot be given to viewers nor posted on your Website. It is for internal station use only. Any
exceptions to this will be clearly noted. Thank you.

Linda Foley
Identity Theft Resource Center
9672 Via Excelencia
Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92126
858-693-7935

The Identity Theft Resource Center is a national nonprofit organization that focuses exclusively on identity theft. ITRC was founded in December,1999
by Linda and Jay Foley. The seed for ITRC was planted in 1997 when Linda's then employer used the information on her tax forms to get credit cards and a
cell phone. At that time, there was little information for victims to use and no network of people with whom to talk. At first, Linda volunteered with another program that had done some work in victim assistance for this crime. Very quickly, however, it became apparent that a specialized program was needed, focusing on victim assistance and serving as a clearinghouse of information.