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San Diego, CA. - The crime of identity theft is a
widespread and growing problem that has caught the
attention of the media. Generally overlooked, however,
in the ensuing publicity was an interesting piece of
demographic information, the Federal Trade Commission
found in recent studies that young people in the 18-29
age group experienced the highest levels of
victimization, comprising 31 percent of the total
thefts.
When Javelin Strategy and Research co-released its 2006
Identity Fraud Survey Report with the Better Business
Bureau, it revealed the number of US adult victims of
identity fraud decreased by a half million over 2005,
but the total one year fraud amount rose to $56.6
billion and a fraud amount per fraud victim of $6,383.
These statistics are included in a new college level
identity theft prevention course developed by Johnny May
of Bloomfield Hills, MI., an independent security
consultant, trainer and the author of "Johnny May's
Guide to Preventing Identity Theft" May teaches the
courses to students at two Michigan colleges, Madonna
University (Livonia, Michigan) and Henry Ford Community
College (Dearborn, Michigan).
"How often does a young person order a credit report? I
think the mind-set is they don't have anything worth
losing", said Johnny May. "A lot of them work part time
or for minimum wage, some don't work at all." "The
reality is this makes it easy for identity theft to
occur and the identity can be used for a long time
without the victim's knowledge".
In a 2004 Summit on Protecting Teens from Identity
Theft, one of the recommendations was for both high
schools and colleges to integrate identity theft
awareness and prevention techniques in to their
curriculums. "Young people are extremely susceptible to
identity theft, for this reason they need to be educated
on this topic," May said.
Mr. May, who obtained his ICFE Certified Identity Theft
Risk Management Specialist (CITRMS) certification in
April 2007, has also developed a new identity theft
prevention and awareness training program which is
geared at college students and high school juniors and
seniors. Mr. May's web site is: IdentityTheftInfo.com.
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About the ICFE:
About the
ICFE:
The Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE), founded in 1982 by the
late Loren Dunton (creator of the “certified financial planner” (CFP)
designation) and it is dedicated to helping consumers of all ages to improve
their spending, increase savings and use credit more wisely. The ICFE trains and
certifies Personal Finance Instructors for its own curriculum. It also trains
and certifies Credit Report Reviewers and Identity Theft Prevention Specialists.
The ICFE is an award winning, nonprofit, consumer education organization that
has helped millions of people through its education programs and resources. It
publishes the Do-It-Yourself Credit File correction Guide, now in its 16th
printing and has distributed over one million “Credit/Debit Card Warning Labels”
and “Credit/Debit Card Sleeves” world wide.
The ICFE became an official partner with the Department of Defense/Financial
Readiness Campaign in June of 2004.
The ICFE is also a partner in the national Jump$tart Coalition for Financial
Literacy and the California Jump$tart chapter. The ICFE staff is also active
with San Diego Saves, an offshoot of America Saves, and the California Student
Debt Resource Awareness Project (CASDRAP) (studentdebthelp.org).
The ICFE’s on-line help for consumers who spend too much was featured in PARADE
Magazine in the Intelligence Report section. The money helps and tips are from
“The Money Instruction Book,” a course in personal finance, positioned to become
among the premier programs in the new bankruptcy and debtor education
initiatives.
The ICFE Web site at:
http://www.icfe.info helps consumers with mending spending, learning about
the proper use of credit, budget and expense guidelines, how to set up and
implement a spending-plan and also how to access financial education courses and
videos and how to teach children about money. Other ICFE services include a free
eNewsletter, and an online resource center of financial education learning
tools, including videos, books, software and personal finance courses.
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