The article below is probably of relevance to many parents and young people who are starting out in college. The victims of digital crimes like identity theft are often portrayed as older, less technical savvy people but increasingly that’s not the case. Many identity thieves are targeting young people who are extremely active online in forums, boards and social media groups however are only just starting out with their financial profiles. Often they are not aware of the importance of things like social security numbers or national insurance details in the UK. Many young people will have basic bank accounts but possibly don’t use them as much as older people and are less likely to be aware of fraudulent entries from their account for example.
Assuming that you are a parent or guardian of a teenager, you pretty much recognize the threats which the Internet can pose. By now you have most likely listened to the stories regarding grown-up predators who linger in online chat rooms searching for children to victimize. Commonly these freaks impersonate adolescents, seeking to acquire the trust of unsuspecting and naive children. News journalists have posed as potential child victims, consented to meet with predators, planted hidden cameras, and caught these kinds of criminals in compromising positions.
It’s important to make young people aware of all the risks that are associated with being online. There are obviously many initiatives regarding protecting young peoples safety with respects to sexual predators but the danger doesn’t end there. Young people are very active online and arguably are much more vulnerable to online criminals. Although they tend to be technical savvy, they tend to less aware of dangers, and engage in habits like downloading from media sites often using illegal torrents for example.
It is certainly incredibly important that all parents appreciate these threats to make certain their children know who they really should and shouldn’t be talking with. Nonetheless, there is another risk that children are encountering online which typically parents are completely unaware of. That risk, needless to say, is identity theft, and it appears that youngsters can be at much more risk than adults.
I didn’t get my first credit card until i was 18 years old. Like most other teenagers, even after I acquired it, I had no idea what a credit report was, and l was not even just a little curious about reading one. I didn’t find out about credit reports until I bought my first new car a few years later. I discovered an identity criminal been definitely using my information during those years, I would certainly not have known it. And that is precisely why younger people are so much at risk.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has specified that people under the age of 18 are the fastest growing demographic for identity theft. More often than not, young victims won’t realize that they are victims up until they apply for a driver’s license or attempt to sign up for their first credit card. All of a sudden, creditors come out of the woodwork to attempt to recover unpaid debt. In many cases, crooks use portions of the victims’ real information while making up the rest Whenever the targets get credit reports, they find their social security numbers assigned to more than just their names.
So how is it that identity thieves are actually obtaining these young peoples’ SSNs? Well, it turns out that frequently the victims provide it to them whilst conversing on the internet. While most adults have been made aware of the need to guard SSNs, frequently teenagers don’t have any idea what it’s utilized for or exactly what can happen if it ends up in the wrong hands.