Sorry for the headline, but we have to get creative to get anyone to read an article on a Friday like this one, even if it is an important story. <\/p>\n
As we enter the holidays and parents begin to rest after another hectic year of shopping for their kids, Malwarebytes Labs wants to draw some attention to a part of most children’s lives that deeply affects their online security: The education system.<\/p>\n
Although children in the US can\u2019t take out loans or get credit cards on their own, they can end up as victims of identity theft, which can end up being a lifelong burden in the form of bad credit ratings and even criminal records.<\/p>\n
An old study by Experian<\/a> estimated that 25 percent of children will be victims of identity fraud or theft by the time they are 18 years old. In the current system it\u2019s even possible that a newborn gets assigned a Social Security Number (SSN) which has already been used by a criminal.<\/p>\n The Social Security Administration (SSA) has already assigned more than half of all available SSNs and because there is no check before the number gets issued, a baby could end up getting one with a bad history.<\/p>\n But usually, it happens later on. According to Javelin’s 2022 Child Identity Fraud Study<\/a>, approximately 1.7 million US children had their personal information exposed and potentially compromised due to data breaches in 2021.<\/p>\n Many of the leaked information about children comes, unsurprisingly, from the educational institutions that they visit.<\/p>\n Breaches in education don\u2019t follow a pattern or affect only children. They range from leaky school apps<\/a> to ransomware<\/a> and from childcare<\/a> to the teacher\u2019s retirement system<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even though the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 mandates that the IRS notify taxpayers, including parents and guardians, when there is suspected identity theft, it has been criticized<\/a> for not complying with this obligation.<\/p>\n So, parents and guardians need to be vigilant themselves.<\/p>\n There are a few things you can do.<\/p>\n If you want to find out what personal data of yours has been exposed online, you can use our free Digital Footprint scan<\/a>. Fill in the email address you\u2019re curious about (it\u2019s best to submit the one you most frequently use) and we\u2019ll send you a free report.<\/p>\nHow to keep an eye on your children\u2019s identities<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Check your digital footprint<\/h2>\n