Identity+Theft

Identity Theft Nick Valenti Emilee West Stephanie Nicholson

Identity theft is a crime. Identity theft refers to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. It has been reported in the United States and Canada that people have been able to draw money right out of others bank and financial accounts. In many cases, a victim's losses may include not only out-of-pocket financial losses, but substantial additional financial costs. The methods used to gain one's identity are much more elementary and simple then one might think, there are many easy techniques criminals use to gain identities. "Shoulder surfing" ­ is one technique in which they listen in on your conversation if you give your credit-card number over the telephone. Some criminals engage in "dumpster diving" ­ this is when criminals search your trash to find documents that may contain personal information. these types of documents could be checks, bank statements, credit card statements, or other records which bear your name and address, even telephone number, this makes it much easier for a criminal to steal an identity.
 * Description:**

According to Identity Theft.com children of school age are prime targets for thieves and many criminals consider children their prime victims because children have clean records so it is easy to obtain credit in their names.This is possible because usually credit card companies believe the applicant is the age stated on the application, unless the case is disputed. Many of these cases occur because of the mishandling of personal information by the school administration. It is important that schools be very careful about where they store personal information such as social security numbers and birth certificates. It is highly frowned upon that teachers be given copies of their students social security numbers, and it should not be used in cases where it could be easily compromised like grade books. Also, in some cases, social secuirty numbers have been used to keep track of children, like on school id cards or the track progress, which makes an identity thief's job easier. Regulations by the US Office of the Inspector General dictates that all school personnel are responsible to report fraud, waste or abuse to the Department of Education.
 * What is the impact of this issue on K-12 schools, educators, and students?**

Teachers, should also illustrate the importance of not giving newly learned personal information out to strangers to their students. Unfortunately, in most cases, identity theft target at children is usually by someone close to the family. However, in some cases, if given out to a stranger, criminals may use the child's identity when arrested or to get a drivers license. As a keeper of sensitive information about their students, schools need to insure that they take the appropriate measures to protect the information to insure that it is never misused. If a child's identity is stolen, the effects can be devastating. Often a child may not find out until he is a teenager and tries to apply for a college loan, get a drivers license, or rent an apartment only to find out his/her credit is destroyed. PreK-K Preschool and Kindergarten is when student's often learn personal information about themselves for the first time. When teaching students their phone number, address, birthdays and full name, it is also important to emphasis that they do not give this information out to strangers. This is important because skilled criminals can turn even the slightest bit of information into something more. 1-4 A class field trip a bank could be organized, to explain to young children how the in's and outs of banks work. Also, they could be taught the basics of credit and debit, and checking accounts. 5-8 In middle school, student's are beginning to be allowed to surf the internet with out any restrictions so education on Identity theft should be integrated with lessons about basic internet safety. Student's should be warned against websites and emails that ask for there personal information such as phone numbers, addressees, birthdays, social security number etc. 9-12 High School student's will probably benefit the most from instruction on identity theft. Since high school students will turn of age soon, and many have their own credit cards already, teachers should emphasis the dangers that go along with such responsibilities. It is important that high school students learn to be mindful of who they give their social security number too, since they starting to apply for jobs, colleges, student loans, credit cards etc. I know personally, I always carried around my social security card around in my wallet and it wasn't until a class in high school that I realized the dangers of this. Teaching about Identity theft could be incorporated into economics, personal finance, accounting and ethics classes in high school. It would also be helpful for adviser's to warn student's who are applying for jobs and colleges to be mindful of the personal information they are giving out. With the increased popularity of social networking sites, personal information of students is available for all the world to see. Students should be advised to be careful what personal information they put on the site, and should be taught about privacy settings that could protect them from criminals on the web.
 * Integrating this topic into Daily Instruction:**

[|Identity Theft Resource Center] The link offers advice to either children or parents of children who are victims of identity theft. The link explains various different scenarios in which child identity theft occurs, and advice on how to deal with the aftermath of the crime. [|Teaching Teens to Avoid Identity Theft]This link is an online article explains why schools are becoming targets for identity thieves. [|IdentityTheft.com Article] [|Regulations by Office of Inspector General]
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