![]() Of the identity theft complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission in 2014, about 18% (roughly 37,000 cases) impacted victims in their 20's. College-age students may be particularly susceptible to identity theft.While some of those information items may seem innocuous on their own, they can often be combined to devastating effect by identity thieves. Their extensive, though not comprehensive, list includes: Social Security number, driver’s license number, full name, home address, email address, and phone numbers. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (2015) provides several examples of PII in educational contexts. Academic advisors work with sensitive PII in the course of their duties.While every academic advisor does not need to become an “expert” on identity theft, every academic advisor should have a toolkit that points students in the right direction if they have concerns/experience with identity theft. Given the psychological and financial stress that can be caused by identity theft, academic advisors must be prepared to advise their charges on the matter. The academic advisor is in a unique position to work with a student from admission to graduation-virtually no-one else can legitimately make such a claim. The core values do not limit advisors’ responsibilities to “traditional” academic matters advisors must be prepared to interact with students holistically, developmentally and, sometimes, intrusively. Advisors are responsible for their professional practices and for themselves personally.Advisors are responsible to their educational community.Advisors are responsible to higher education.Advisors are responsible to their institutions.Advisors are responsible for involving others, when appropriate, in the advising process.Advisors are responsible to the individuals they advise.NACADA’s Core Values of Academic Advising (2005) elucidates six values central to the practice of academic advising:.Regardless of institution type, position title, academic discipline or experience in the field, academic advisors should care about and be prepared to work with students on the issue of identity theft for at least three reasons: The actions of identity thieves often impact credit scores, which typically results in still more consequences recovering from those consequences can take years. ![]() ![]() Once obtained, PII can be used to siphon money from the victim’s accounts, open new credit accounts, extort the victim, file fraudulent tax returns and/or divert legitimate tax refunds/other government payments to the identity thief. Failure to keep just one of those items secure can lead to serious psychological, financial, social and economic setbacks. In the context of those definitions, “personal identifying information” (PII) refers to items such as a Social Security number, driver’s license number and/or bank account/credit card numbers. “All types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.” (United States Department of Justice, 2015).“The crime of obtaining the personal or financial information of another person for the sole purpose of assuming that person’s name or identity in order to make transactions or purchases.” (Investopedia, 2015).“The illegal use of someone’s personal identifying information.in order to get money or credit.” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2015).Here are a few definitions of identity theft: The article concludes with several sources for additional information on the preceding and related topics. What steps can be taken to recover from identity theft?.Why should academic advisors care about identity theft?.In this article, we’ll examine the following topics on this important issue: In 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (2015) received over 300,000 identity theft complaints-13% of the overall total complaints received in that year. Identity theft is a growing problem in the United States and around the world.
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