March 1 Six O’Clock Series warns students against dangers of identity theft

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.