The document provides information to college students about identity theft, credit cards, and how to be a savvy consumer. It discusses the risks of identity theft and tips to protect personal information. It also covers important information about credit cards, such as annual percentage rates and fees. Additionally, the document recommends creating a budget, reading all agreements carefully, and checking out businesses with the Better Business Bureau before making purchases or accepting job offers.

1. Identity Theft, Credit Cards &
Other Important Information for
College Students
Presented by: Tri-State Better Business Bureau
3101 N. Green River Rd., Suite 410
Evansville, IN 47715
Phone: 812-473-0202, 800-359-0979
Email: info@evansville.bbb.org
Web Address: www.evansville.bbb.org
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2. ∗ 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization
∗ Information source
∗ Objective, unbiased information
∗BBB Business Reviews
∗BBB Wise Giving Reports
∗Dispute Resolution
∗Advertising Review
About Your BBB
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3. ∗Identity Theft
∗College Students & Credit
∗How to Be a Savvy Consumer
What are we going to discuss?
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4. ∗ 12.6 million victims in 2012
∗ $20.9 BILLION in losses in 2012
∗ $365-Average cost to a consumer
∗ YOU DON’T KNOW UNTIL IT’S ALREADY
HAPPENED!!
Identity Theft
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5. ∗It occurs when someone steals your
personal information like credit
cards or your social security number
and uses it fraudulently
∗It can cost you time and money
∗It can destroy your credit and ruin
your good name
What is Identity Theft?
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6. ∗Your Social Security card
∗Your driver’s license
∗Your account numbers
∗Other personal information:
∗Address
∗Mother’s maiden name
∗DOB
What does the thief want?
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7. What steps can you take to deter
identity thieves?
∗ Safeguard Your Information
∗ Don’t use obvious passwords
∗ Avoid carrying your Social
Security number and driver’s
license together.
∗ Request that your Social
Security number not be used
to publicly post grades.
∗ If the school uses your Social
Security number for your
student I.D., request an
assigned number.
∗ Don’t give out personal
information unless you are
sure who you are dealing with.
∗ Send sensitive information to
your home address.
∗ Avoid putting outgoing mail in
unsecured campus mailboxes.
∗ Don’t shop online or pay a bill on
a public computer or public wi-fi
connection.
∗ Shred any pre-approved credit
card offers and bills before
disposing of them.
∗ Limit the amount of personal
information you place online.
This includes “time and place”
data i.e. “At the movies” or “On
Spring Break”.
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8. Most Frequently Used
Passwords
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1.password
2.123456
3.12345678
4.abc123
5.qwerty
6.monkey
7.letmein
8.dragon
9.111111
10. baseball
11. iloveyou
12. trustno1
13. 1234567
14. sunshine
15. master
16. 123123
17. welcome
18. shadow
19. ashley
20. football
21. jesus
22. michael
23. ninja
24. mustang
25. password1

9. ∗ Data on your Smartphone can compromise your identity
∗ How to protect your data:
∗ Password protect your phone with a complex and
unique password and set your phone to auto-lock
∗ Enable a service with remote tracking
∗ Turn Bluetooth off if you’re not using it. Thieves can
pair their Bluetooth device with yours and hack personal
information
∗ Be careful on Wi-Fi networks
∗ Before downloading any apps to your phone, always do
a quick search to make sure it comes from a legitimate
site or publisher and read the “permissions” (what the
app is allowed to do).
Tips for Smartphone Users
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10. How do you detect and defend
against identity theft?
∗ DETECT
∗ Routinely monitor bills
and be alert if one
doesn’t arrive
∗ Inspect your Credit
Report
∗ www.annualcreditreport.com
or 877-322-8228
∗ Inspect your bank
statements and credit
card bills for unusual
charges
∗ DEFEND
∗ As soon as you detect a problem:
∗ Place a “Fraud Alert” on your credit reports by
calling any one of the three nationwide credit
reporting companies
∗ Close accounts that have been tampered with or
opened fraudulently
∗ File a police report
∗ Contact the Federal Trade Commission
∗ 1-877-438-4338 or
www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-iden
∗ Contact your Attorney General
∗ Indiana ID Theft Unit: 1-800-382-5516 or
http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/2853.htm
∗ Kentucky: 1-502-696-5389 or
http://ag.ky.gov/civil/consumerprotection/idtheft/
∗ Illinois: 1-866-999-5630
http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/Id
entity_Theft_Resource_Guide.pdf
∗ Contact creditors, banks, utility companies, etc.
∗ Keep detailed record of actions you take and all
correspondence
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11. Credit Cards & Students
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12. ∗ Credit Card-You can use this card to buy things and
pay over time; however, it is considered a loan and
must be paid back. If you don’t pay the card off, you
will be charged a finance charge. The dollar amount
you pay depends on how much you owe and the APR
on the account.
∗ Debit Card-This type of card typically allows you real-
time access to your money through savings or
checking account. Keep in mind that if you don’t
watch your balance closely, you could be charged
overdraft fees.
∗ Charge Card-With this type of card, you must pay the
balance in full each time you receive the bill.
Plastic 101
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13. If you choose to get a credit card,
read the fine print.
∗ Annual percentage rate (APR)-
the measure of the cost of credit
expressed as a yearly interest
rate. This percentage must be
disclosed before you open the
account and your account
statement.
∗ Watch out for “intro” rates that
may only be in effect for a set
number of months then increase
after that time expires.
∗ Annual fees-Some cards charge a
membership or participation fee.
(This can be charged annually or
monthly)
∗ Transaction fees and other
charges-Some issuers charge a
fee if you use the card to get a
cash advance, make a late
payment or exceed your credit
limit. Some may charge a fee if
you use the card or if you
don’t.
∗ Customer Service-You may
take this for granted until
something goes wrong. Keep
an eye out for issuers with a 24-
hour toll-free telephone
number.
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14. 14
www.betterloanchoice.com
Bad Credit Loan Matching
Better Loan Choice will analyze the information you provide in your application and match you to a lender for either good credit loans or bad credit loans. Finding loans for borrowers with bad credit
can be challenging, but through our network of lenders, we have been successful. Although we are always able to match an applicant with a lender, this does not guarantee that you will receive a
loan offer. If you are matched with a payday lender, we recommend that you review all of the information on our website that explains the disadvantages of payday/cash advance loans and all fee
and rate information from any payday/cash advance lender pertaining to any loan being offered to you before you agree to the terms of the loan.
Traditional Lenders
When you are matched with one of our traditional lenders, you can expect your APR to range from 6.50% to 36.00%.
Personal Loan Information and Security
We know that entrusting your personal information to others can be stressful, especially online! We want to ensure you that we take our obligations to protect your personal information seriously.
We use the latest web security best practices to protect your data including providing 256 bit encryption on all of the pages on which you provide your personal loans application data. Please see our
Privacy Policy and the disclaimer entitled “Important Information About the Services Offered by BetterLoanChoice.com and How the Information You Provide to Us Will Be Used,” which appears at
the bottom of every page of our website, for information about the use and disclosure of your personal information.
Peer to Peer Lenders
When you are matched with one of our Peer to Peer Lenders, you can expect your APR to range from 6.59% to 35.84%.
If you are matched to a short-term lender please read the following important information:
Consumer Notice: A cash advance, also referred to as a payday loan or payday advance, is a small, short-term loan that is intended to cover a borrower’s expenses until the following payday. Cash
advances are intended for short-term financial relief and do not constitute long-term financial solutions. Consumers facing debt and credit difficulties should seek out debt and credit advisory help.
Consumers are encouraged to consult the federal, state, and local governments to learn more about the risks involved with cash advances, local laws and regulations governing cash advances,
possible loan alternatives and recent developments in their state. Consumers with credit difficulties should seek credit counseling.
Payday Lenders
When you are matched with one of our payday lenders, you can expect your APR to range from 353.23% to 2,737.50%.
Short-Term Lenders
When you are matched with one of our short-term lenders, you can expect your APR to range from 199.44% to 448.76%.
Financial Implications
The following is a representative of our network of participating lenders: If you are unable to repay your loan in a timely manner, you may be assessed one or all of the following - late fees,
administrative fees, non-payment fees, insufficient fund fees, court costs, and legal fees. In addition, unpaid fees may accumulate interest. The lender you are matched to will disclose all potential
fees. Fees may range from $25 to $2,000 based on applicable state law maximums.
Collection Practices
If you are unable to repay your loan, collections efforts will begin immediately by the lender you provides you a loan. Collections practices vary by lender, and all lenders are subject to the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act. Debt collection efforts may include the following: telephone calls to your home or place of employment between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., voicemail messages,
notices by mail, and door to door. Debt collectors may not harass you, make false statements, threaten arrest, or engage in any other unfair practices.
Credit Score Implications
If you fail to pay your loan on a timely basis, your lender may report your delinquency to a credit reporting agency. If the lender reports your delinquency, you can expect your credit score to
decrease. If your credit score decreases this will make your cost to borrow become more expensive and, depending your level of debt and other factors, you may be unable to borrow money from
any lender in the future. Be aware of the implications of failing to make timely payments.

15. ∗ Shop around for a carrier.
∗ Look for APR that is 15% or lower.
∗ Look for carriers that offer no annual fees.
∗ Be sure to know if the rate is going to increase, and what the
increase percentage is.
∗ Read the fine print in the Terms and Conditions.
∗ Stick with one card and use it sparingly. Only charge what you are
capable of paying back at the end of the month.
∗ Pay off your balance each month.
∗ Make your payment as early as possible in the month to avoid late
charges.
∗ Periodically call and ask for a lower interest rate.
Tips to Avoid Credit Card Debt
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16. Credit Card Accountability,
Responsibility and Disclosure Act of
2009 aka Credit CARD Act of 2009
Provides the following protections for college students:
•To open a credit card account if under 21, you will need to show
that you have the income to make required payments or get a co-
signer 21 or older who has the ability to do so.
•Once you have a card with a co-signer, if you want a higher credit
card limit, the co-signer must agree in writing to the increase.
•Credit card companies are prohibited from marketing credit cards
and from offering pizza, T-shirts, hats, and other freebies within
1,000 feet of a college campus.
•Colleges and universities, as well as alumni organizations, will have
to annually disclose the terms of any marketing or promotional
agreements they make with credit card companies.16

17. ∗BBB has partnered with the
following organizations to help
consumers make wise financial
decisions:
BBB Financial Resources
for Consumers
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18. BBB Managing Credit – Made Simpler
sponsored by Capital One
www.bbb.org/credit-management
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19. BBB and Clearpoint
Credit Counseling Solutions
www.bbb.org/us/clearpoint-tips
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20. BBB and FINRA
Investor Education Foundation
www.bbb.org/smart-investing
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21. Comparing Cost of Colleges
http://collegecost.ed.gov
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22. How to Be a Savvy Consumer
1.Look for the BBB
seal and always
check out a
business with your
BBB before you
buy.
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23. 2) Sign up for the BBB Smart Tips for
Consumers eNewsletter.
There are 5 different
eNewsletters you can sign up
for:
Smart Tips for Consumers,
Scam Alerts, The Trusted
Scout, Smart Investing, and
Wise Giving.
https://cbbb.wufoo.com/forms/email-sign-up/
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24. 3) Beware of job offers to make
easy money.
Beware of any job offer, work-at-home
scheme or business opportunity that
promises big money for little work
and no experience.
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25. 4) Always read the fine print
especially for free trial offers.
Thousands of consumers complained to the
BBB after signing up for a free trial offer
online that resulted in repeated charges to
their credit or debit cards sometimes
amounting to as much as hundreds of dollars
every month. Read the terms and conditions of
any free trial offer before handing over credit or
debit card numbers.
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26. 5) Keep your computer safe.
Make sure you use strong passwords
with capital and lowercase letters,
numbers, and characters. Have a good
antivirus and anti-malware program
installed and conduct regular scans.
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27. 6) Never wire money to
someone you don’t know.
Many scams require that
the victim wire money back
to the scammers. The BBB
has formed a partnership
with Western Union to try
to spot and stop scams
before the consumer
becomes a victim.
www.bbb.org/scam-stopper
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28. 7) Fight identity theft.
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29. 8) Create a budget and stick to it.
www.bbb.org/us/article/tips-on-how-
to-develop-a-working-budget-6101
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30. 9) Fight fake check fraud.
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31. 10) Get everything in writing.
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