This morning, as I was walking to campus, I overheard a young woman who seemed to be placing an order using her credit card and cell phone.

Apparently without concern, she read off her credit card number, the issuing company, the expiration date and her e-mail address.

Since the e-mail address would allow anyone to look up her name and possibly address and phone number, she had just provided to everyone within earshot all the information anyone would need to commit credit card fraud. This is a head start to anyone looking to steal her identity and use it against her.

I have seen the difficulty friends of mine went through after being the victims of identity theft.

It can take hours of work to even find all of the fraudulent accounts and charges in one's name, let alone try to clear those charges. I would like to remind my fellow students:

It can happen to you.

Your personal information is only as secure as you make it. A little common sense, like shredding financial documents and those pre-approved credit card offers, and seeking privacy for phone orders will go a long way.