College Students Should be Wary When Buying Textbooks Online
September 21, 2009 – 11:00 am
Number 1,374 to have your identity stolen – buying textbooks online.
Every semester millions of college attendees go online and seek out the best deals on necessary textbooks for their upcoming classes. Many know the deals are to be found online instead of the stores with large online textbook retailers like Amazon, Bigwords, Half and CampusGrotto. However there are thousands of smaller online textbook retailers that are not nearly as trustworthy. They offer crazy discounts on books but it may come in the price of losing your identity.
That’s what happened to Phil Baker of Fort Worth, Texas. After buying a textbook at “a radical discount” his debit card information was stolen. Eventually it resulted in a $1,919 withdrawl from his checking account.
College-age adults are extremely susceptible to online scams because they use computers so often. Most of their research, coursework and social interactions happen on the computer and they’re more likely to purchase items from questionable sources without security concerns. Most have ordered thousands of dollars of products and goods online without an issue and it leads them into developing bad habits.
Another factor is that most universities and colleges get students in the mindset of using their social security numbers for student IDs, roll listings, registration and even dorm admission. Students get so used to using their SSN on campus that they begin to think of it as simply their new name — a practice that many scammers are keen to exploit.
Tags: amazon, bigwords, buying online, cheap textbooks, college, ID theft, risk, Scams, textbooks
One Response to “College Students Should be Wary When Buying Textbooks Online”
wow, its horrible to think this kind of thing probably happens every day
By cguy on Sep 22, 2009