Students Archives - John Sileo, Cyber Security Training

College Identity Theft Speaker

I’ve got a neighbor who’s going back to college this week and reminds me that this is by far the highest risk group for identify theft and it’s for a couple of reasons. When these kids are going off to college, it’s the first time they are getting true financial independence, which might never have been trained to handle. They have access to credit cards, to new bank accounts, and they’re managing it themselves. That’s a huge red flag that there’s going to be trouble. Number two, they’re going into an environment where their stuff is not particularly protected. They’re in a dorm room, they’ve got roommates that may need extra cash; they know they can take advantage of them. So it’s kind of a high risk environment. The third reason is because they do so much online. There’s so much social media interaction and that’s where ton of information is stolen. So you need to take some of these steps that are in this blog post. Help your students take them. It will help them out not just this year in college but helping them build their financial future going forward. Your identity is pretty much everything in terms of your net worth. You got to take care of it now.

College Students Destroy Financial Future with Poor Choices

College is the perfect period of life to begin sound financial practices including protecting privacy. Not only are college students vulnerable, but they are impressionable and well positioned to learn strong habits that will last them a lifetime. As students launch into independence, we, as parents, hope to give them the best tools possible to insure a bright future. One of the most vital tools is to establish healthy habits that will guard their financial and personal identities for the rest of their lives. People ages 18 -24 are the least able to spot identity theft according to the BBB. That age group needed more than four months to realize someone had damaged their credit history or used their identity. By taking a few precautions, a young adult can avoid the crushing job of trying to recover from having given away the keys to their financial future, which is especially overwhelming while navigating life away from home for the first time.

Tyler Clementi Doesn’t Care About Cyber-Bullying Policies

Guest Blogger: Kathleen Keelan, Prevention Consultants, LLC

I have a hard time telling the parents of a cyber-bullied student that their school “has a policy.” I have a hard time explaining to a child that even though they feel like their whole existence is being shattered every day, all day and all night, that their school district really does care about them. It’s hard to explain to a cyber-bullied student and their parents that the school truly cares that they feel safe.

This I know for sure: the policy is only as good as the people who enforce it.

School officials are scrambling right now due to the “epidemic” of suicides from cyber bullying. Law enforcement is scrambling right now to define their role in this growing phenomenon. The National Crime Prevention Council is happy that physical bullying amongst children has declined. However, the rate of cyber bullying is increasing at an alarming rate. Right now the NCPS found that among teenagers, more than 43% are victims of cyber bullying.