As millions of teenagers start their educational journeys in college this fall, thousands risk identity theft. During their early adult years, they are building one of the most important financial aspects of their life--their credit scores. But with their naive approach to finances and their inattentiveness to protecting their most personal information, many college students fall victim to identity theft because of their lack of knowledge and follow-through in identity theft protection. Identity Theft Labs, one of the most trusted evaluation and review websites for identity theft protection companies, helps college students reduce their risk of identity theft with a few simple tips for parents:
Educate your child on phishing scams
With schools offering student emails, many students will become a victim of phishing scams. This is where a bogus email is sent to the student, which looks official and appears to come from a financial institution. This email will ask for personal information, such as "verifying your account," in which sends your student to a false website for them to enter in this data. As soon as this information is obtained by the third party, their personal data is at risk, as are their financial accounts. Remind your student never to send personal information through the internet, and to contact their financial company through their customer service number if being requested to send this data.
Warn of credit applications
Many college students are bombarded with credit card applications in the mail and on campus. Each time they apply, they give out their Social Security numbers, income, and personal data. Remind your student not to apply for credit cards, and to bring home any credit card offers that they receive so you can look them over and help them make a good choice for their first credit card. Or add them as an additional cardholder on one of your own credit cards to assist them in starting to build their credit without putting them at risk for identity theft. Also, send them to college with a shredder to shred any credit card applications they receive on campus that they don't plan on applying for. Identity thieves can use these tossed applications to create a credit card under a student's name and start racking up fraudulent purchases and ruining their new credit scores.
Enroll in a monitoring service
Enrolling your student in a credit monitoring service can help you and your student keep track of what is going on with their credit score and financial happenings. Each time they come home (for school break--or laundry!), sit down with them and view their credit reports through the service. Talking about finances with your child will not only help them understand the importance of building their financial future at a young age, but can give you the opportunity to talk to them about saving money, spending wisely, and donating to their local community. Websites like Identity Theft Labs can help you make a decision regarding the best credit monitoring service for your student by offering LifeLock reviews, Identity Guard reviews, TrustedID reviews, and other identity theft protection services that are available online.
Teaching your child financial responsibility is one thing, but letting them know the ways to protect themselves from identity theft is another. Talk with your child about the dangers of identity theft on their financial future, and sit down together to visit Identity Theft Labs to discuss credit report monitoring and identity theft protection techniques.
About Identity Theft Labs
Identity Theft Labs mission and devotion is to increase awareness among consumers on a national level for protecting themselves from the devastating effects of identity theft. Identity theft has been ranked as the single, fastest growing crime in the United States today. Identity Theft Labs is considered to be the most trusted evaluation and review website for identity theft protection companies on the market today. You can discover high quality, credible, and unbiased reviews by going to the following website: http://www.IdentityTheftLabs.com. Please contact Identity Theft Labs at 1-800-691-9204 for questions, assistance, basic inquiries, and media requests.
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