Diane Van Wyngarden and her husband Kent had second lives they knew very little about until the telephone calls began. Diane, director of marketing for the ISU Alumni Association, said her family started receiving “very strange” messages on their answering machine last August. The calls came from Federal Express and a motorcycle dealership about items sent and purchased in Kent Van Wyngarden’s name. Through an investigation by the Des Moines Police Department, Social Security Administrative Fraud Department and United States Postal Service inspectors, the Van Wyngardens found that an identity thief had opened several credit card accounts under Kent’s name and Social Security number. The thief also had purchased a car, used cash-advance checks and opened bank accounts using other fictitious names. “It was a pretty extensive investigation,” Diane Van Wyngarden said. The fraud continued for almost two years, and the Van Wyngardens still do not know how the thief obtained Kent’s personal information. The Van Wyngarden’s case demonstrates security issues that ISU faculty and students could encounter with the use Social Security numbers at Iowa State. Barbara Mack, associate professor of journalism and communication, said she sees students’ Social Security numbers daily and can access information about home addresses, parental listings, class lists and even photos through AccessPlus. “It’s a wonderful tool, but it doesn’t have to be based on Social Security numbers,” she said about AccessPlus. “If I were an unscrupulous faculty member, I could have literally hundreds of credit cards. It’s the Social Security number that’s the basis for issuing credit cards.” Mack said she refrains from using her Social Security number unless absolutely necessary and would encourage students to do the same. “I would be much happier if the university assigned separate student ID numbers,” she said. ISU Registrar Kathleen Jones said the university is slowly moving to a system where students can use their ISU card identification numbers and confidential pin numbers to access personal university information. If students do not want to use their Social Security numbers, administrators and professors can find students through a name browse. However, Jones said students who receive financial aid or are employed on campus are required by law to use their Social Security numbers. Amy Fahrmann, senior in management, would like to see separate numbers assigned to students. “It would be nice when we came to class if they gave us a number,” she said. Other students like to use their Social Security numbers because they’re convenient. “I use it for my driver’s license, so I’m used to it,” said Adam Wiegman, sophomore in materials engineering. He said using another number would be “too much of a hassle.” Nathan Brockman, senior in entomology, said he believes his Social Security number is in good hands at the Iowa State. “If somebody wants to waste the time to get what’s left of a poor college student’s money, they’re barking up the wrong tree,” he said. “I don’t want another number; I have enough to remember.” Diane Van Wyngarden said she and her husband have taken safety measures to protect themselves from another identity theft. They have removed their Social Security numbers from their checks, placed their Social Security cards in safe-deposit boxes and bought a paper shredder.