Protecting Your Items in College

Can you really trust your new room mate around your personal items? Chances are you can, but can you trust their judgement? Can you trust the people they choose to befriend? Can you trust the people they will bring into your room? Probably not. Here are some tips on protecting the items that aremost commonly stolen from dorm rooms.

Protect your debit and credit cards by keeping them in your wallet and on your person. Don't leave them laying on tables, or leave your purse or wallet by the door. That may make it easy to remember them on the way out, but it will also make them easy to steal. You should literally sleep with your wallet or tuck it under your mattress or in a bed organizer pocket kept behind your bed.

iPhones and iPods are notorious for being snatched. Put an app on your phone that allows you to track it, or better yet, keep it in your pocket when not on it's dock recharging and playing music. .

Laptops are theft magnets. For those times when you can't take it with you, lock it to the desk or put it in a locked trunk that is chained to the bed. This might sound like overkill, but your computer will get stolen if it is not literally chained down.

Don't flash cash. Better yet, don't carry more than 20 dollars at a time. You can replace credit and debit cards, but you can't replace stolen cash.

Bicycles will be stolen if not locked up. U-locks are the best protection because they are resistant to bolt cutters. The thief will have to work hard to steal your bike, making it much less likely that it will be stolen. Don't be lazy, always take the extra minute to lock away your books.

Textbooks are typically stolen at the beginning of the term. They are resold to the book sellers for cash in most cases. Make it undesirable to resell by writing your name on the sides of the pagers in permanent marker and on front of the book as well. Write your name and phone number on the inside of the cover.

Jewelry is often stolen from college students on campus. It is best to not bring valuable jewelry to college. Leave it at home and rock your junk jewelry on campus.

Personal and banking information is also stolen from college students. In most cases, the theft goes undiscovered until an incident of identity theft occurs. Your roommate's shady friend may copy down your social security number, or steal a bank statement without you ever noticing it happened. For these reasons, it would behoove you to put these papers away. Store these important papers under your mattress or in a safe. If you keep personal information on the Internet, be sure to take precautions to protect your personal data as well.