Arizona has the highest rate of identity theft in the nation, and college students are particularly prone to being victims of the crime.
UA Students In Free Enterprise is attempting to educate students on how to protect themselves from identity theft by sponsoring the Federal Trade Commission's seventh annual National Consumer Protection Week on campus.
This year's theme is "Identity Theft: When Fact Becomes Fiction."
Arizona Attorney General's office prosecutor John Evans will give a workshop on how to avoid identity theft tomorrow from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Copper Room at the Student Union Memorial Center.
"Most students are perfect candidates for identity theft," Evans said.
Identity thieves not only steal credit card and bank account information, but also social security numbers and other forms of identification, Evans said.
"You get a speeding ticket and you get arrested because there are warrants out for your arrest for prostitution - your sister has taken your ID," Evans said.
Juan Ciscomani, SIFE co-president, said students are often fooled into giving out their bank information to "nice people walking around on campus asking you to fill things out."
"It's a horrible crime," said Ciscomani, a political science senior. "It's so hard to prove, takes about 10 years to go to trial to get everything cleaned up and reimbursed, and the worst thing is sometimes you don't know your identity has been stolen."
Evans said identity theft is a growing problem due in part to the Internet facilitating easy and anonymous thievery.
"As students cycle through life, the stakes they have in protecting identity are higher, especially in the digital age because now there are greater resources," he said.
Melinda Burke, SIFE faculty advisor, said the workshop is of particular interest to students who are establishing their credit ratings or graduating in May, circumstances potentially making them more vulnerable to identity theft.
"The impact on your life is dramatic in terms of ability to get credit, buy a car or do business," Burke said. "People have their lives turned upside down, their credit rating destroyed and get stuck with thousands of dollars in debt. This is very timely for students."
Shelley Huff, a SIFE member, said she also believes college students about to enter the workforce should be aware of the dangers of identity theft.
"People are getting out of college and making great salaries but they're stunted because of identity theft," said Huff, a retail and consumer sciences senior.
Jing Xiao, director of Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research, said the consumer counseling company donated $2 million in grants to SIFE to promote financial education, and has promised $8 million more.
TCAI is part of the college of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Xiao said in the last five years, identity thieves have attacked about 27.3 million Americans.
He said identity theft is rampant because consumers do not heed government warnings and advice to thwart identity theft.
Xiao said the federal government now requires the credit bureau to offer free credit reports to everyone in America.
Since Dec. 1 of last year, Arizona residents have access to free annual credit reports through the Annual Credit Report Request Service. The reports are offered to residents of 13 Western states, and by September, every U.S. resident will have access to the service.