Protecting yourself from identity theft

BUILDING BLOCKS TEACHER GUIDE

After watching a video about the dangers of identity theft, students

will choose actions that will help protect their personal information.

Learning goals

Big idea

Identity theft harms millions of Americans

every year.

Essential questions

§ What are the dangers of identity theft?

§ What can I do to protect my personal

nformation from being stolen?

Objectives

§ Dene the dangers of identity theft

§ Identify behaviors that will help keep your

dentity safe

What students will do

§ Watch a video about the dangers of

identity theft.

§ Read about how people steal personal

nformation.

§ Choose the actions that will help protect

heir personal information.

KEY INFORMATION

Building block:

Executive function

Financial habits and norms

Financial knowledge and

decision-making skills

Grade level: Middle school (6–8)

Age range: 11–14

Topic: Protect (Managing risk, Preventing

fraud and identity theft)

School subject: CTE (Career and technical

education), English or language arts

Teaching strategy: Direct instruction

Bloom’s Taxonomy level: Understand,

Create

Activity duration: 45–60 minutes

National Standards for Personal

Financial Education, 2021

Managing risk: 4-1, 4-2, 8-1, 8-5, 8-7, 12-11

These standards are cumulative, and topics are not

repeated in each grade level. This activity may include

information students need to understand before

exploring this topic in more detail.

NOTE

Please remember to consider your students’

accommodations and special needs to ensure

that all students are able to participate in a

meaningful way.

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Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau

To nd this and other activities, go to:

consumernance.gov/teach-activities

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Protecting yourself from identity theft

Preparing for this activity

□ While it’s not necessary, completing the “Acting out fraud” or

“Composing songs and verse about fraud” activities rst may make

this one more meaningful.

□ P

rint copies of all student materials, or prepare for students to access

them electronically.

□ P

review the “Why Care About Identity Theft?” video on the Federal Trade

Commission’s (FTC) consumer.gov website at consumer.gov/articles/1015-

avoiding-identity-theft to familiarize yourself with the content.

□ S

et up your classroom to play the video for the whole class or arrange for

students to have individual access.

What you’ll need

THIS TEACHER GUIDE

§ Protecting yourself from identity theft (guide)

cfpb_building_block_activities_protecting-yourself-from-identity-theft_guide.pdf

§ C

omputer and a projector or smartboard

STUDENT MATERIALS

§ Protecting yourself from identity theft (worksheet)

cfpb_building_block_activities_protecting-yourself-from-identity-theft_worksheet.pdf

§ T

he FTC’s “Why Care About Identity Theft?” video at consumer.gov/articles/1015-

avoiding-identity-theft

Exploring key nancial concepts

Millions of Americans are victims of fraud or identity theft each

year. No matter where you live or how old you are, you may

someday be affected by these crimes. Understanding what

identity theft is and what you can do to protect your personal

information is part of becoming nancially literate.

Identity theft happens when a person uses, or tries to use,

someone else’s sensitive personal information to commit fraud.

This could be a stranger or someone you know, even someone

TIP

Because the types of crimes

and the laws about identity

theft change, students should

be encouraged to always

look for the most up-to-date

information.

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Protecting yourself from identity theft

in your own family. They could use your name and address, your phone number

or email, your credit card or bank account numbers, your Social Security number,

or other types of information that belongs to you. The people who steal personal

information can harm you by buying things using your existing accounts such as

bank or credit card accounts, or by opening new accounts while pretending to

be you. The trouble is, because the creditors think you’ve made the purchases,

those bills will affect you. Often, victims of identity theft don’t even know that their

identity was stolen until they nd out that they have poor credit because of unpaid

bills on accounts a thief opens and uses. Sometimes it can take a while to get the

information about the thief’s activities off your credit record. During the process

of clearing your record, it can be hard to get a job, a loan, or a place to live. It’s

important to protect your identity so this doesn’t happen to you. If your identity is

stolen, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website identitytheft.gov can help

you report the theft and recover from it.

Teaching this activity

Whole-class introduction

§ Distribute the “Protecting yourself from identity theft” worksheet.

§ B

e sure students understand key vocabulary:

dentity theft: Using your personal information — such as

your name, Social Security number, or credit card number —

without your permission.

§ Show students the FTC’s “Why Care About Identity Theft”

video at consumer.gov/articles/1015-avoiding-identity-theft.

§ A

sk students to describe the risks in their own words on their worksheets.

TIP

Visit CFPB’s nancial

education glossary at

consumernance.gov/

nancial-education-glossary/.

Individual or group work

§ Ask students to work individually or with a partner to complete the worksheet.

§ S

tudents will rst read the information on the worksheet about how to protect

their identity.

§ T

hen, students will review the “Avoiding identity theft” scenarios and choose the

behavior that will help keep their identity safe.

§ S

tudents will then answer the reection question.

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Protecting yourself from identity theft

Wrap-up

Bring students back together to discuss the scenarios and explore ways to protect

their identity.

Suggested next steps

Consider searching for other CFPB activities that address the topic of protection,

including managing risk and preventing fraud and identity theft. Suggested

activities include “Protecting your identity online” and “Protecting your Social

Security number.” The FTC’s identitytheft.gov website also has useful resources

for understanding and reporting identity theft.

Measuring student learning

Students’ answers on their worksheets and during discussion can give you a

sense of their understanding. This answer guide provides possible answers for

“Protecting yourself from identity theft” worksheet. Keep in mind that students’

answers may vary. The important thing is for students to have reasonable

justication for their answers.

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Protecting yourself from identity theft

Answer guide

Scenario 1. You’re creating a new social media password.

 Option A: You choose your birthday.

 Option B: You choose a random sequence of letters,

numbers, and symbols.

Explanation: Use strong passwords. You should avoid using

obvious passwords that thieves can easily guess.

NOTE

Much of the information in

this answer guide is from

the FTC’s identitytheft.gov

website.

Scenario 2. You use social media to invite friends to a party.

 Option A: You send a private invitation to a select guest list.

 Option B: On your public wall, you post your address, phone number, email,

and your birthday so friends have what they need.

Explanation: Avoid oversharing information on public websites. If you post too

much information about yourself, an identity thief can nd information about

your life, use it to answer “challenge” questions on your accounts, and get access

to your money and personal information.

Scenario 3. You want to do some online shopping to buy back-to-school

items you really need, but your computer at home is not working well.

 Option A: You go to the library and use a public computer to connect to the

online store and buy what you need.

 Option B: After dinner, you use your mom’s smartphone when you’re both

sitting on the couch in your living room.

Explanation: Public wi- or computers may not be secure. When sharing your

credit card information, it is best to use your own computer, because it’s easier

for someone to steal your information from a public computer. If you must use a

public computer, always remember these safety tips:

§ Erase your browsing history.

§ Don’t save your login information on the computer.

§ Don’t leave the computer unattended with your personal information on

he s

creen.

§ Watch out for people snooping over your shoulder to get your personal

info

rmation.

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Protecting yourself from identity theft

Scenario 4. You’re cleaning your room. You want to get rid of old

documents you have in your desk. These documents include the results

of your yearly physical from your doctor, your school report cards, and

statements from your savings account.

 Option A: You go to the ofce supply store to shred the information.

 Option B: You throw out the information in your trash.

Explanation: A thief might steal your mail or garbage to get your account

numbers or your Social Security number. That’s why it’s important to keep your

nancial records and your Social Security and medical cards in a safe place, and

then shred papers that have your personal or medical information.