Industry News
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| | Queens University of Charlotte Students Worried About Possible Identy Theft
07:59 AM EDT on Tuesday, September 18, 2007
By MARIO ROLDAN / WCNC
E-mail Mario: MRoldan@WCNC.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A breach of trust left hundreds of Queens University of Charlotte students worried about possible identity theft.
"I really thought it was a joke, but when I opened the file there was all that information," said nursing student Caroline Boatright.
In an attempt to tell 623 students about a financial aid opportunity, a university employee accidentally sent an e-mail with all the students’ addresses, telephone and Social Security numbers.
More Information
To place a fraud alert on your credit reports call one of the three consumer reporting companies:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian: 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
"We are very sorry and obviously we've done everything we can to protect it from happening again, said Brian Ralph, vice president for enrollment management.
Ralph said the university has changed its procedures to prevent private files from being attached to e-mail.
"The good news is this wasn't a situation where somebody broke into our computer information or anything like that, said Ralph. It was simply human error.
Human error means Boatright has to trust that 622 other students will delete the information before it gets into the wrong hands.
It’s ridiculously frustrating, she said. There's nothing I can do except, I’ve done well, I’ve done all I can do."
The university is giving students information on how to minimize the chance they'll be victims of identity theft.
-You speak to someone that verifies there's been a fraud alert put on your account so that if any new accounts are open, if there's any suspicious activity, then they can alert you and let you know what's going on," said Boatright.
Anyone can place a fraud alert on their credit accounts free of charge for three months. Queens University contracted with a fraud and credit monitoring service to offer the affected students free service for a full year.
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Tips to safeguard your identity
Because you never know where your personal information will end up, you should have safeguards in place before your identity is stolen. If you numbers get into the wrong hands here's what you should do:
-Pulling your credit report is not enough. Call credit agencies and have them issue a fraud alert.
-Make sure you are using a credit monitoring service that monitors all three credit bureaus.
-Call all credit card companies, banks and the Social Security Administration.
Click here for more information on how you can safeguard your identity. | |
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