As more and more students apply for and maintain credit cards, more and more may become victims of credit card crimes.

"If you think about it, this is a new kind of crime that didn't exist 20 years ago," said Thomas Harmon, director of University Police Services.

"Whenever credit cards and electronic purchasing became a part of our way of life, a new way of committing crime was created," he said.

The last few weeks have seen a rash of cases of people stealing or finding lost credit cards and making substantial purchases with them. A student allegedly borrowed his roommate's credit card and put it back, another found a card and allegedly went to the Nittany Mall and bought a personal cassette player, and three others allegedly found a lost Discover and VISA and went on a shopping spree at the Nittany Mall.

The State College Bureau of Police Services receives a high number of cases like this each year, said David Caster, crime prevention officer. He could not provide an exact number because it happens so often.

"People shouldn't overly worry about it, most won't have problems with their cards," said Bill Ahearn, vice president of public affairs for Citibank -- a major credit card issuer. "But it's not very consoling to tell someone they are a one in a thousand case because that can be a pretty tough case."

Citibank employs its own investigators and works closely with the FBI and the Secret Service in tracking down credit card criminals, but there is not much Citibank can do about this kind of credit card crime, Ahearn said.

Ahearn and Caster both said people should contact the credit card issuer immediately if their card is lost or stolen. But something else people should do --which many do not -- is contact the police.

"If they report it to us and the card is used, we have an advantage and may get lucky. The chance of catching the person is increased," Caster said. He pointed out that once a card is stolen, a person will use it for only a couple days and then get rid of it.

Tracking down the suspects is a job best suited for local authorities, Ahearn said.

"Notifying the issuer that someone stole the credit card limits their liability, but it's too individual for a large institution to track down," Ahearn said. Citibank focuses its attention on organized groups who submit applications under false pretenses.

If someone reports a credit card lost or stolen to the State College police, they can alert about 140 local businesses through a computer network, Caster said.

"A report activates the system and it calls every store. If they check the list, they'll know," Caster said. "There is no cost to the businesses but their time."

Businesses have an important role in preventing people from committing a successful purchase with a card that is not theirs. But many do not take the time to check the signature on the back of cards or run them through for verification, Caster said.

Norm Brown, chairman of the Downtown Business Association and manager of the Student Book Store, 330 E. College Ave., said he was surprised by how many stores do not have the electronic system for verifying credit cards.

"Hopefully, each store has its own in-house system," Brown said. "If they don't have an on-line credit card thing, they should make sure the back of the card is signed or ask for other identification."

Communication is the key to the whole thing, Brown said, but he was critical of the borough's computer alert network.

"The only problem is the timing. Down the street they'll get the call on Wednesday, I don't get it until Friday," Brown said. "Does it take that long? There's something in place, but it can get better. It's gotta get better."

Despite the problem, more businesses need to know the system is available, Brown said.

Ahearn said credit cards are still safer to use than cash or checks.

"The basic utility isn't compromised, but there is always going to be crime. We try to prevent and deter as much as possible, unfortunately there are a lot of smart crooks out there," Ahearn said.

The first and best line of defense against this type of credit card crime is for people to be careful with their wallets and their cards, Ahearn said.

"One of the things hidden is the cost of the crime," Harmon said. "So much of it all ends up added to the cost of doing business. We all pay for it."