Identity Theft On The Rise
Identity Theft On The Rise
Identity theft is on the rise. More than 162 million records have been reported lost or stolen in 2007. That’s three times more than the more than 49 million that went missing last year.
It’s happened in Austin, too.
The personal information, including the social security numbers of 22 students, was posted on a University of Texas Web site.
At Seton, a man stole a laptop computer from an office, which potentially put more than 7,000 people at risk.
Businesses are taking measures to protect themselves and their clients.
“We upgraded the security protocol for our students, our faculty and staff that use our wireless network,” said Liz Aebersold with University of Texas Information Technology Services. “One of the common techniques, and there was recently an article about this, is that people will actually drive by, park outside a business and collect transactions that are going on.”
The university is removing social security numbers from routine business and educating students on how to protect themselves.