Protecting Your Child's Personal Information at School
"Back to school – an annual ritual that includes buying new notebooks, packing lunches, coordinating transportation, and filling out forms: registration forms, health forms, permission slips, and emergency contact forms, to name a few. Many school forms require personal and, sometimes, sensitive information. In the wrong hands, this information can be used to commit fraud in your child's name. For example, a child's Social Security number can be used by identity thieves and other criminals to apply for government benefits, open bank and credit card accounts, apply for a loan or utility service, or rent a place to live.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, cautions that when children are victims of identity theft, the crime may go undetected for years – or at least until they apply for a job, a student loan or a car loan, or want to rent an apartment..."