Parents, It’s Never Too Early To Teach Safe Data Practices

ITAC, the Identity Theft Assistance Center, is marking financial literacy month by reminding parents that safe data practices should begin early in their children’s lives.

“It’s important for your child’s physical and emotional safety to warn them about giving out personal information that can be used for nefarious purposes like identity theft,” said ITAC President Anne Wallace. “It lays the groundwork for the future when they’ll need to use their personal information to open accounts and apply for services.”

Children and young adults who use social networking websites like Facebook can reduce their chances of becoming victims of identity crime by avoiding the posting, or the request for, personal information that can be used to establish phony accounts or hijack existing accounts. ITAC recommends parents give children a “DO NOT SHARE” list that includes:

- Address
- Social Security Number
- Birth date
- Mother’s maiden name
- Pet names
- Phone number

“Criminals are trolling these sites looking for information they can monetize. Let’s make it more difficult by giving our kids the information they need to protect themselves and make it part of a lifetime of safe data practices,” said Wallace.

Parents can get much more information on safe online practices by downloading the brochure, Net Cetera: Chatting with Kinds about Being Online, from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission here.

Throughout April, Financial Literacy Month, The Financial Services Roundtable and its member companies are leading financial literacy projects across America. These projects are part of the Roundtable’s Community Service 2010 initiative, which has a year-round focus on financial literacy.