Eastern is not immune to identity theft.

Jackie See, financial health coordinator for the Health Education Resource Center, said she has spoken to students with thousands of dollars of damage done to their credit caused by identity theft.

While identity theft is a real problem for everyone, it is college students who can be easier targets.

See attributed an easily accessed Social Security number, not balancing a checkbook, not keeping receipts and receiving excess credit card or loan offers in the mail, as reasons why college students are at greater risk for identity theft.

“They are inexperienced in handling their finances,” See said in an e-mail.

Identity theft is serious business.

“If a thief has a persons’ name, address and Social Security number, they can do a lot of damage,” See said.

At the end of the fall semester, a malware virus put the personal information of about 9,000 students who applied for admission to Eastern at risk.

Between Nov. 11 and Nov. 16 the electronic application data of some students who applied to Eastern was open to access by an outside source because of the virus.

The server contained Social Security numbers, mailing addresses and other contact information.

The server was put under investigation after a security report showed suspicious activity had taken place.

Adam Dodge, Eastern’s information technology security officer, said in the Dec. 7 edition of The Daily Eastern News, “It is important to note that not all individuals that applied during this period were affected, only a small percent.”

As a precaution the university has organized free credit monitoring and ID theft protection for current students and the applicants.

See gave some advice for identity protection.

“Signs when identity theft does occur would include things such as noticing unknown openings of accounts such as credit cards, mortgages and bank accounts,” See said.

With the expansion of technology people must be very conscious about their finances See said.

“The best way is to check your credit report!” see Said.

The three largest credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, are required by law to give consumers a free copy of their credit report every year.

See recommends checking these reports annually for anyone over the age of 18.

Having bad credit scores due to identity theft can affect many different aspects of a victim’s life.

“This can result in being denied for loans, mortgages, financing, job and renting opportunities,” See said.

See, who can be reached at 581-7786 or Herc-financialed@eiu.edu, said she can walk Eastern students through the steps of rebuilding their identity.

James Roedl can be reached at 581-7942 or

jmroedl@eiu.edu