Identity Theft Assistance

The Rutgers program Identity Theft 911 offers a comprehensive solution to the problem of identity theft—one that addresses people's lives, not just their bank accounts. In cooperation with University Human Resources and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, Identity Theft 911 advisers guide victims, one-on-one, through the crisis resolution process. The service includes systematic notification of agencies and companies, development of a case file for police and insurance purposes, and the issuing of fraud alerts. This service is provided in tandem with other existing victim assistance programs offered through the university.

What Is “Identity Theft”?

There are two types of activity that would require assistance. They are:

Account Takeover: abuse of existing banking or other financial accounts
True Identity Theft: fraudulent creation of new accounts, records, and identification

Eligibility:

Current Rutgers University employees, whether faculty or staff, who are employed for at least 50% time are eligible for this free service.

Need Help Now?

Employees call:
Michele Petosa, University Human Resources at 732-932-3020, ext. 4061

Students call:
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 732-932-8576

Report on-campus theft:
RUPD- New Brunswick/ Piscataway 732-932-7211
RUPD-Camden Police 856-225-6009
RUPD-Newark 973-353-5581


Frequently Asked Questions about Identity Theft

How Is Your Identity Acquired?

• Mail stolen from unlocked mailboxes
• Email "phishing" scams
• Dumpster diving for sensitive documents
• ATM and telephone “shoulder surfing”
• Skimming of credit card information
  

Reducing Your Risk For identity Theft

• Scrutinize a 3-in-1 credit report at least twice a year
• Sign up for credit monitoring
• Periodically check Division of Motor Vehicles, Social Security, and other personal records
• Never forget that anyone with a credit card, a bank account, a driver's license, or a Social Security number is a potential target

Are You At Risk?

Take one of these quizzes to determine your vulnerability:

• MailFrontier Phishing IQ Quiz
• Identity Theft Risk Assessment Quiz

Securing Your Computers and Files

The Office of Information Technology suggests you ask yourself these critical questions regarding your work and home computers: RU using anti-virus software and keeping it up to date automatically (Rutgers Antivirus Delivery Service-RADS for automatic updates)?

RU exercising caution when opening email attachments?
RU selecting hard to guess passwords and keeping them private?
RU backing up important files?
RU downloading and installing operating system update patches?
RU aware of the risks in file sharing?
RU using a password protected screen saver?
RU locking up your computer when not in use?
RU aware of how to report a computer abuse incident?
RU protecting your computer from Internet intruders by using a firewall?

For more information on avoiding identity theft, visit Identity Theft 911's web page.

Resources To Help You

Crime Victim Assistance Office of Information Protection and Security Student Judicial Affairs Cook/New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Additional Resources and Web sites

To submit a comment or to report any problems with this site, please email us. For questions about University Human Resources programs and services, please email our Operations Team.

© 2007 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved.

Last Updated: 09/04/2007