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28 June 2006
Students are needlessly putting themselves at risk from identity theft by failing to take proper precautions.
A new survey of students at the University of East Anglia (UEA) revealed that more than 70 per cent of those questioned did not sufficiently destroy used card receipts and old bank statements before throwing them away.
Fraudsters can easily use personal information found on documents such as card receipts and bank statements to steal your identity.
Many students did not realise that direct mail offers for accounts, loans and credit cards also put them at risk if not properly destroyed before being thrown away, with 74 per cent failing to destroy them properly.
Around 29 per cent of students used the same Pin number for all their accounts, the poll from financial information provider Moneyfacts found, while 46 per cent allowed other people to use their bank cards.
"With finances already tight for students, this is alarming evidence that they are putting themselves needlessly at risk of financial fraud," said Ben Williams, finance officer of the Union of UEA Students.
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