Natalie Szlachetka was at a party with a group of people from high school Friday night.

“I felt like I knew everybody,” she said.

She had no idea that in this crowd of familiar faces, someone would take advantage of her belongings.

When Szlachetka woke up in the morning she couldn’t find her cell phone or wallet. She hadn’t thought to check for it the night before, and could not find it anywhere.

She called the bank to find out that her account had been overdrawn, and that she was the victim of Federal Trade Commission fraud.

“I was so surprised because I know I’d never do that to anybody so I didn’t think that happened,” Szlachetka said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “I heard of people losing their cards, but not of someone actually using them.”

Szlachetka is not alone in being the victim of this growing theft.

According to consumerfraudreport.org, people under 30 make up 25 percent of identity theft victims.

Identity theft is costing Americans billions annually, and growing at an alarming rate, said Jimmy Williamson, Chief of the University Police Department.

“It’s one of these things people don’t see in the same sense because it’s a white collar crime,” Williamson said.

Though identity theft through credit cards is common, identity theft can occur in a variety of other ways – stolen checks, accounts opened in another person’s name, amounts added to a bill and false investments.

Internet auction fraud was by far the No. 1 form of identity theft according to identitytheftsecurity.com, making up 44.5 percent of complaints.

“Students are so trusting of individuals,” Williamson said. “Just because you are on a college campus doesn’t mean a criminal element won’t come into the environment.”

He said in on-campus cases, hall mates will sometimes steal credit cards or checks that are lying out in plain view.

“It is the same as preventing car thefts,” Williamson said. “Don’t leave stuff out.”

Williamson also said to be aware of any unsolicited questioning of your personal information, especially if it is online or on the phone.

“We live in a society that wants that freebie. That plays into the hands of predators,” Williamson said.

He warned about giving information to online scams about jury duty, winning money or an early stimulus check.

“Just don’t do it,” he said.

Szlachetka found out a few students from Georgia College & State University – whom she hardly knew – took her wallet. She spotted the students on a videotape at Choo Choo, a restaurant, and Racetrack, a gas station, where they had spent her money.

The parents of the offenders have repaid Szlachetka for what she lost – $25 in spending, $100 in gift cards and $180 for her stolen cell phone – and she has dropped the felony charges. However, she said, she won’t forget the incident in the future.

May Advincula, a University alumna whose credit card was stolen in October, said the theft made her feel financially unprotected.

“I felt violated, my personal information was all out and there and I wasn’t safe at all,” Advincula said in a phone interview Monday. “Now I had to sit there and worry about someone stealing my identity. What would have happened if they had cleaned out my bank account?”

Advincula’s account is still on a credit watch, and she is wary about making online purchases.

Williamson offered a few simple suggestions for how students can protect themselves from identity theft:

- Have a special credit card for online purchases that has a low limit.

- Save receipts and check them. Sometimes people add extra tip without the consumer ever knowing.

- Balance your checkbook. Predators know college students are unlikely to do this, making students an easy target.

- Use a fake date of birth on questionnaires. If predators have one piece of your information, it makes it easier to get others.

- Use a locked mailbox and shred personal information – such as pre approved credit cards – when done with it. Trash and mailboxes are the two easiest places for predators to get information, Williamson said.

- Check your credit history annually. You are entitled to one annual report, not score, each year. Look for a large number of inquires – it could be a sign that someone is trying to get into your account. A good Web site to visit is annualcreditcheck.com.