In this technological age of instant gratification, when cell phones connect to e-mail and Sacramento State offers wireless Internet connections across campus, identity theft ?” surprisingly enough ?” is still a rather low-tech operation.

But whether a computer hacker or a mail thief victimizes an individual, the latest target population ?” college students ?” is still at risk of being victimized at a rate almost 50 percent higher than the general population, according to a new report.

The Identity Theft Awareness for Students report from RelyData, a Chicago based company that works to restore the identity of victims, was released in September and gives detailed protective information for young people.

Its goal is to make students aware of the increase in identity theft crimes and change behavior if possible.

“Through the report we are trying to show that young people may be victimized more because they are living on their own for the first time,” said Garnet Steen, president of RelyData. “They are also the right targets for identity theft because they have the perfect credit right off the bat.”

This semester at Sac State marks the first time that student’s social security numbers are no longer linked to their student identification cards. In compliance with a law enacted in July of last year, California’s privacy legislation, the One Card Office began new card distribution in May.And so far so good, said Ronald Grant, associate vice president of Business Operations.

“We haven’t had any identity theft problems in the One Card office,” he said. “And what we’ve done in this office is to remove the possibilities of theft by assigning students a unique number for their cards with no link to their social.”

And this is strategy that Steen advises for many situations.

“I recommend that people give a nine digit information number, that is made up, to certain businesses,” he said. “What would a sports club, video store or library need your social security number for?”

Young people may assume that handing out this information is normal, but they should be aware of the dangers, Steen said.

“You have to be aggressive about owning your information and not giving it to people who don’t need it.”

The majority of the time the crime has nothing to do with personal information online, but rather one’s surroundings. Campus housing often means living in close quarters with individuals that know nothing about each other.

“People you live with or have access to your home or people you work with and have access to your job are the ones most likely to victimize you,” Steen said. “These are the offline vulnerabilities that strike most often.”

Students currently living in the dorm on the Sac State campus have not complained of mail theft or possible identity theft this semester, according to campus police.

Two ways to keep from becoming a victim of identity theft are to make it more difficult for thieves to steal your identity and to limit the ease in which they can use your identity if stolen, according to the report.

And when the Federal Trade Commission reported 9.9 million victims of identity theft in 2002, precautions need to be taken, Steen said.

“If you are getting unsolicited credit card applications in the mail, turn them off,” he said. “”Think about who would have access to your mail, make sure your mail is picked up during breaks, and shred all your unwanted mail.”

The full report on identity theft awareness for students can be viewed at www.relydata.com.

Lora Simmons can be reached at news @statehornet.com