They have your address. They have your phone number. They're giving away free gifts. They're the credit card companies.

As soon as students enroll at Penn State, their addresses and dorm phone numbers become public information unless it is requested otherwise, Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said.

This openness gives credit card companies and other businesses a vehicle to communicate with college students.

On its Web site, www.psu.edu/studentaid, the Penn State Office of Student Aid advises students how to use a credit card properly.

"If you must have a national credit card choose only one," advises the office.

The Web site gives pointers on how to deal with some of the maneuvers credit card companies use, such as changing interest rates and allowing someone to skip payments.

Some students may take credit card solicitations and use the credit card as a gift that they think they will not have to be paid back.

"You have to realize it's real money," said April Lewis-Parks, director of education for the Fort Lauderdale-based Consolidated Credit Counseling Services (CCCS), a nationwide financial advice and debt management company.

Lewis-Parks said more than 75 percent of colleges allow credit card solicitations on campus. She said it is especially important for students to understand interest rates and credit scores before using a credit card.

"Credit is a tool," Lewis-Parks said.

She said students should limit their purchases with credit cards, using them only to buy things they need for school, such as books.

She added that students should pay off the balance within three months of the purchase and that they should pay off the bill before they charge again.

Lewis-Park said 20 percent of CCCS's 60,000 clients are recent college graduates.

She said parents and schools should teach high school and college students more about managing financial matters.

Lewis-Park urged restraint with credit card use, even if it means physically freezing a credit card in a block of ice could keep the line of credit open while keeping the card out of use temporarily.

Canceling a credit card can be easy or difficult depending on the credit card company.

"The best way is to get in touch with the bank that issued it and they can cancel it," Elizabeth Seagrave, a public relations representative for Visa, said.

She said Visa offers several credit cards tailored to the needs of college students and part of Visa's Web site is dedicated to student resources about budgeting, credit, and financial aid.

Kathy Kimball, senior director of security operations and services for ITS, said students also should be wary of financial pitfalls online.

She said credit card solicitation by Penn State Webmail is almost always a scam.

"Your credit card company is unlikely to send you an e-mail requesting information from you," Kimball said.

Kimball sail e-mail solicitations requesting personal information are tools identity thieves use to prey on unsuspecting victims.

She added that these so-called "phishing schemes" only work if someone opens the e-mail or gives out personal information.

She said ITS tries to filter out as much of this spam as it can, using a scoring system that rates the likeliness an e-mail is to be junk mail.