As students across America head back to school, they face many challenges and dangers, but few that can impact the rest of their lives like identity theft and fraud.
To help educate students on these topics, CyberScout (www.identitytheft911.com) will release one article per day from August 17th through August 21st. The articles can be found in the CyberScout Knowledge Center™ at http://knowledgecenter.cyberscout.com/.
Article subjects, release dates and back-to-school identity theft prevention tips on each subject are as follows:
Job Hunting—Monday, August 17
Never put your Social Security number on a resume or job application. The only time a company will need it is after you’ve been hired, for your W-2.
Beware of any job offer that asks for an up-front fee or payment, even if it claims it’s for a background or credit check.
Cloud Computing—Tuesday, August 18
Don't keep any sensitive or identifying data in a cloud-computing service, even if it’s encrypted or password-protected.
Create a strong password for your document-sharing account, and don't use a security question that's easy to guess.
P2P File-Sharing—Wednesday, August 19
Find out what file-sharing applications you’re running, and double-check to see which files you've configured to share. You could be giving everyone unfettered access to everything on your computer, including sensitive personal and financial information.
Be careful of what you download. Some content can bring in unwanted ads and malware.
Social Media—Thursday, August 20
Don’t accept friend requests from strangers in a misguided attempt to pad your Facebook numbers. Some of these "friends" may be looking to collect information about you in order to perpetrate a scam.
Consider how much of your identifying information is posted on these sites. Are there photos that show the entire layout of your apartment and everything in it? Is your full birth date disclosed? Over-sharing is a bad idea for many reasons.
Personal Data Security 101—Friday, August 21
Be on the lookout for people with clipboards asking for addresses and other personal information. Don’t give anyone your Social Security number or any personal information.
Go paperless for your bills and financial statements. This reduces the volume of paper (containing account numbers) sent to your mailbox.
As a leader in identity theft education and protection, CyberScout develops and distributes one comprehensive report each month, along with a host of articles, news alerts, tips and educational materials.
