Identity theft strikes student
The card read Whitney Ryan. Whitney Ryan, Tulsa, Okla., junior, was a victim of identity theft. Her Visa credit card was stolen and recovered by Lawrence police Sunday. Sgt. Dan Ward of the Lawrence Police Department said that two men were arrested for the theft. He said the men ran up a bar bill at Vermont Street BBQ and tried to pay with the Visa card. The individual who had possession of the card was a 20-year-old transient, without a residency, and the other was an 18-year-old male with a Tonganoxie residence. “It
is creepy to think that you might not even be aware that your card is gone and
that someone is pretending to be you,” Ryan said. Ryan is not alone as a victim of identity theft in Kansas. In 2003, 1,378 people were victim to identity theft from existing accounts in Kansas, according to the Federal Trade Commission Web site. Of that total, 30 percent were between the ages of 18 and 29, and 25 percent were between the ages 30 and 39. Kansas ranked 26th in the United States in number of identity thefts. The Kansas statute on identity theft defines it as knowingly obtaining and using a personal identification number for the intent to defraud for economic benefit. It is a felony under Kansas law. Capt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU Public Safety Office said young people were less likely to notice identity theft because of busy lifestyles. He said that college is a carefree age and that it may take students longer to report something stolen or missing because of their schedules. The problem with taking time to report a stolen card is that it doesn’t take long for a thief to run up a large dollar amount, Bailey said. A missing card should be canceled within a few hours of its disappearance — it is worth the hassle of cancelling a credit card to save yourself from ruining your credit report, he said. The men arrested for the theft of Ryan’s card said they found it on the street, but Ryan said she keeps her cards in her purse. At first, she didn’t realize the card was missing, because she had previously decided to stop using credit cards and was trying to use only her checking account. When she couldn’t find the card, she assumed her parents had taken it. What really bothered Ryan was that no one checked the signature at any of the places the card was used. It’s important for businesses to check credit card receipts, Ward said. “Kudos to the waitress for being on top of it,” Ward said. —
Edited by Janette Crawford |