Schools Put Students at Risk of Identity Theft
According to the Washington Times, schools are putting children at risk of identity fraud by obtaining their Social Security numbers when it is not required by law and often unnecessary.
The Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General says that some school systems in at least 26 states collect the nine-digit identifiers when students from kindergarten through high school register for classes, even though the states don’t legally require them to do so.
Seven states require school systems to collect Social Security numbers as their primary means to track and identify students. However, officials say that other methods are just as good.
In one case, an elementary school poster contest asked students to put their Social Security numbers on entry forms attached to the backs of posters.
“We believe such practices increase the risk of SSN misuse and unnecessarily subject students to the possibility of identity theft,” investigators said in the report, which noted the growing number of identity theft victims who are under the age of 19. “Identity thieves often target children because they have clean credit histories, and their records may be used for years before they realize their identity has been used for criminal activities.”
