 "Photo: Danielle Bashore/The Penn")
Identity theft has become one of the quickest growing crimes in the United States, according to Visa.
That was the subject of the Six O’Clock Series presented by PNC Bank March 1.
Eric Rayco, IUP’s PNC Bank branch manager and community banking officer, educated students about identity theft and financial scams to be aware of.
Around 10,000,000 Americans were victims of identity theft in 2009, according to Visa.
Rayco talked about scams such as phishing, dumpster diving, mail theft, pre-texting and the importance of keeping important financial documents secured.
Another form of identity theft can occur in the form of collection calls regarding bills that people can be unaware of, according to Rayco.
Anyone experiencing these phone calls or ones asking for secured financial information should contact their financial provider, he said.
Another way people can watch for signs of identity theft would be to keep an eye on their credit scores, Rayco said.
“Request to view your credit report at least annually,” Rayco said. “Review your credit report at least six months prior to making a large purchase.”
Equifax, Transunion and Experian are three National Credit Bureaus and credit reports, which can be accessed for free.
The top scams at college campuses come in the form of phishing.
Rayco urged students to ignore any urgent-sounding e-mails from eBay, Paypal and banks that ask for account information. He said to call the institution directly for verification to avoid falling victim to any of these scams.
Rayco said another thing to avoid are e-mails implying a distant family member died in a foreign country and has left you money.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” he said.
Rayco said an e-mail scam from individuals claiming to be the FBI has been circulating on college campuses. They send e-mails requesting financial information, and students are encouraged by Rayco to be skeptical of these e-mails.
“If the government wants to talk to you, they’ll find other ways to make contact,” he said.
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