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Credit card companies target students: pt. 2

Information may be sold

Many students do not understand the risks associated with establishing a line of credit and they are often unaware that UNM could be making a profit by selling their information to credit card companies after they graduate.

MBNA, the world's largest independent credit card issuer, has come under fire from public interest groups nationwide for contracting with universities to purchase student information intended to be used for solicitation for their credit cards.

According to its Web site, the credit card giant has contracts with more than three million university students and alumni. The company also has contracts in place with more than 700 educational institutions, many of them worth more than $2 million in return for access to student information.

Christine Polansky, an administrative assistant at UNM's Alumni Association, said the department has a contract with MBNA, but that it only involves the transfer of information about University alumni.

Polansky declined to comment on how the UNM graduates' information is passed to MBNA or how much the Alumni Association stands to gain from the partnership.

"The selling of individuals' information is a very common practice," said Jeanne Bassett, executive director of the New Mexico Public Interest Research Group. "Despite increasing pressure from privacy groups, it is still perfectly legal, unethical as hell, but perfectly legal."

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Bassett said the practice of selling student information doesn't stop there.

"Once they are through with someone's information, they sell it to many other companies," she said. "The majority of our society is unaware of the information that is floating around about them. Basically, we're being sold."

Many students and alumni said they don't appreciate mass mailings and telemarketing phone calls for credit cards.

"I always wondered how the companies got my address and phone number, because being that I couldn't afford a credit card, I never even filled out an application for one," said Joseph Chavez, a former student who attended UNM for three years.

Sharla Reinhart, membership development director for the New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, said while she is aware of the practice of credit companies purchasing information to solicit new members, her bank has stringent rules for who they offer credit cards to.

"We do not even offer lines of credit to freshmen or sophomores, and though we can't deny anyone over 18 from applying, we have numerous programs in place to educate potential clients about the risks involved with credit cards," Reinhart said.

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