Students be aware, university data breaches have resulted in a new tact for identity thieves. Recently, I have received several emails to both my personal and school account reporting to be from my university. Similar to the fraud email from “your bank,” this email denotes a need for you to reaffirm who you are and ensure that the university has registered the correct student in order to remain on track for graduation. The good news is that the data breach must have only compromised my school information (school id number, email, GPA, etc.). The bad news, not every student is a former identity theft victim and will think twice before responding. Thus, it is ever more important for students to remain informed and remember that for every lock we put in place, another thief is looking to find a new way in.

Moreover, recently the FTC released its yearly report on the statistics concerning identity theft. Many things had increased. From the number of cases, to the cost; however, one statistic stood out so strongly above the rest for this victim. The number of cases that get reported to the FTC and not the local authorities was among the highest for the 2008 year. This means that victims of the crime are reporting the crime to their credit companies and the then to the FTC without reporting the crime to the police. Maybe if more people report the crime to the police, more effort will be put forth to go after and stop these criminals. From students to teachers to families, everyone needs to do everything they can to keep thieves away from our personal identifying information.

If more of us report the crime, we not only protect ourselves, but also increase the safety net for our communities. Simply because the crime has increased in number for the last five years doesn’t mean this year has to be the same. With the right tools and drive we can put a stop to identity theft. Either by doing it yourself or having a company lock up your identity, we all have the ability to stay safe and start putting the pressure on thieves. It all starts by empowering and protecting yourself, then your family, then your community. Working together we can all put an end to the phishing emails as well as affect the outcome of the FTC 2009 statistics on identity theft.

On Wednesday, LifeLock and TransUnion announced an agreement to work together -  finally a credit institution with the integrity to not only support people protecting themselves from identity theft, but also help them in whatever means they can to stay safe.  This marks several significant landmarks in identity theft protection for me personally and the nation as a whole.

First the ridiculous lawsuit filed by one of the other credit reporting institution against LifeLock, no more than ever can be seen by the public as more about the respective companies competing services and less about actually what it means to protect people.  Second, with all the different identity theft services popping up all over the country, it is great to see a stand out leader being backed by the cornerstone of protection in this crime, the credit reporting agencies.

Finally, on a more personal note, when I was a victim of identity theft all the credit reporting agencies gave me the run around and seemed more interested in where to send the bills rather than hearing my pleas for help with the exception of one.  Unfortunately it was the last credit-reporting agency I called; however, TransUnion not only helped me understand the specifics of the crime but also was the first of the three to treat me like a person.

With LifeLock and TransUnion teaming up to protect people all over America, my hope for the eventual elimination of the crime is renewed, refreshed, and restored.

Identity theft is a smart crime.  Make no mistake about it, when it comes to getting a hold of your personal information, thieves will do anything and everything from pick pocketing to phishing just for a chance at your identity.  Moreover, for every thief’s scam that doesn’t work, two more pop up.  With such a vast number of thieves and even more cons, for most people these days the question becomes not whom can’t we trust but who can we.  One could labor intensively over the vast number of emails and phone calls; even personal visits in some cases, from identity thieves who seem relentless in their attempt to figure out just what will motivate you to give up the numbers that may hurt you most.  On the other hand, with such a busy world today and such a growing number of thieves many people are turning to experts for help.

In an unfortunate trend for the crime, people and families who were once empowered by programs, like LifeLock, to keep themselves safe are now finding the thieves once again making them feel helpless.  For example, last year experts struggled to keep the public informed as the emergence of skimmers grew.  While it is still unseen what new tact thieves will take this year, one thing is clear; individuals cannot hope to keep themselves safe let alone loved ones without help.

LifeLock has done a great job in attempting to empower communities to stay safe, but as the times change those do-it-yourselfers are finding it difficult to keep up.  Furthermore, the rapid springing up of fraud prevention companies can overwhelm individuals with too many choices and not enough substance.

Many have heard my grief with companies such as freecreditreport.com who disenfranchise the public with hopes of help without cost, only to leave them confused and discouraged when told they must in fact pay.  That is why I’m glad there is a company like LifeLock out there.  One with enough integrity to not only help communities for free, but also go above and beyond in providing the best protection and safety net for the same or lower cost of other ‘id protection’ companies.

I truly believe everyone should figure out their own security needs for this ever-evolving crime and then choose the company that fits them best, but I would be surprised if after researching companies someone found anyone who can keep them and their family safe better than LifeLock.

Halloween is here and parents everywhere are once again doing everything they can to protect their children from harm. From mothers sending kids out with flashlights, to dad’s checking and sometimes ‘re-checking’ the nights haul, it is clear that times are changing. It used to be the worst thing that could happen to your child’s night of trick or treating was the occasional toothbrush or floss given by the neighborhood dentist. Unfortunately for all the families, parents have another threat to worry about this season and all year long - identity theft.

We have all heard the expression, “like taking candy from a baby,” but few stop to question why identity thieves would target a child. The real question being, “What could anyone possibly want to take from a child?” They have no wallet or purse outside of the old hand-me-down or Velcro one stuffed with candy and doodles and the estranged assortment of missing household knickknacks.

However, the grim reality of the matter is that your child possesses something that thieves are after - their identity. Whether for financial, medical, or criminal means, your child’s identity has been the target of identity thieves as early as 2004 if not sooner. According to the Federal Trade Commission in 2004, those under the age of 18 were the number one targets for the crime. Now four years later, it comes as no surprise that as the crime has grown the targeted victims have not. Among the many reasons for going after a child the three largest are quite simple:

• Children have a clean line of credit - mom and dad might not have bad credit but with a child the thief is guaranteed a certain amount.
• Kids don’t check - no one believes a two year old will get on the phone or online and check their credit report; however, very few parents are willing to take on the job either leaving more time for thieves to get away.
• Getting information from a child is a lot simpler than from an adult - you might not be fooled by free car raffle and may already have a job, young individuals are constantly solicited for their personal information by websites, contests, and even job applications.

While simple enough to figure out, parents should then recognize in this simple list the many ways in which they can then empower themselves to do more this year to keep their children safe. From the start, parents ought to make a conscious choice about whether or not to go it alone and protect their kids, or to solicit help and enlist the aid of a private company. For many parents they can drastically reduce the risk to their children simply by checking their credit at least once a year. Unfortunately this doesn’t prevent the thieves from targeting children, but the simple act of checking can reduce the cost and time of correcting the crime by four times and three months respectively.

Parents, as you prepare your children for a night of ghosts, goblins and treats, start also thinking about those identity thieves that are lurking for the personal information of your children.