Originally published January 9 2006
Educators raise awareness of identity theft among teens
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Judith Collins, a professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University, has been traveling the country in an effort to inform teens about the dangers of identity theft, as the young are becoming an increasingly frequent target of the crime.
Applying for a job at an electronics store two years ago, Zach Friesen was stunned to learn that the store manager was turning him down because of his terrible credit record.
The fraud went undetected for a decade, and only when he applied for the job did Friesen discover that he was a prime target for identity thieves, who are increasingly focusing on young people.
Since August, the University of Colorado sophomore has been traveling to high schools in various states, educating teens about identity theft through an initiative undertaken by Qwest Communications.
Also participating in that effort is Judith Collins, a professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University who recently spoke to students at Franklin High School in Seattle.
Teens typically don't have credit reports, having never applied for a loan or a credit card, which leaves their Social Security numbers lying dormant for years.
She was an expert on white-collar crime when someone obtained her Social Security number in 1999 and used it to open 33 credit card accounts, ordering masses of merchandise to a post office box in California.
Though a federal law passed in 1998 made identity theft a criminal offense, Collins said she got little help from police and conducted her own investigation.
She uncovered about 25 other victims living within a 45-mile radius of her home who all went to the same medical clinic, leading Collins to suspect that someone broke into the clinic's patient database.
She has worked with hundreds of young people since that time and has many harrowing stories -- of teens whose bank accounts have been cleaned out, who have been denied employment and student loans or ended up with criminal records resulting from crimes committed using their identity.
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