Identity theft is one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in America, according to government reports, costing the country $52.6 billion last year.
Almost 44,000 Californians reported they had been victims of identity theft in 2004. College officials said this month approximately 200 letters were sent to students telling them their social security numbers may have been compromised.
“We’ve been diligent about letting students know about the problem,” said Sue Ehrlich, vice president of Human Resources and Legal Affairs. This is an issue the college is concerned about, added Ehrlich.
On August 30 an adjunct faculty member received this semester’s student rosters, which Ehrlich said had the appearance of being tampered with.
Eight days later, on Sept. 6, another faculty member had their car broken into and briefcase stolen. The instructor said the briefcase contained all their student rosters. College officials were informed immediately.
Responding to the incidents, City College sent out letters to all students who may be in danger. The letter informed students of the situation and provided them with steps on how to protect themselves against identity theft.
Ehrlich said that City College is planning to stop the use of social security numbers completely from student related items, like rosters and drop/add cards.
Danielle Ruiz, a first year student at City College, said she was one of the students to receive a letter. She said her mother called her and read the letter over the phone. Ruiz said she felt scared because she knows someone who was a victim of identity theft, and has seen the damage it can cause.
City College currently uses social security numbers as student identification numbers on class rosters, both online and printed, and for drop/add cards. Also, students use the last four digits of their social security numbers to login into Pipeline.
The system will see major changes when Banner, the company hired for online registration, is up and running. This system will distribute random identification numbers, completely independent of a student’s social security number. It will go into effect April 2007, and the new numbers will start to show on the rosters for summer session 2007.
The college is making other changes to serve as interim safety measures until the new Banner system goes into effect, Ehrlich said. A member of the Information Technology department has created a program, which uses only the last four digits of social security numbers as student identification numbers. Ehrlich said the new program would show in the next set of rosters sent out to teachers. And, the drop/add cards will only request the student to provide the last four digits. Ehrlich said the college would also change the Pipeline system to no longer use social security numbers, but pin numbers by next semester.