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Safety and Security Online: Online Identity Theft

A lesson from CyberSmart Curriculum

Download Student Sheet(s) for printout in PDF format.

Read a Letter to Educators about Internet safety and security from CyberSmart!

Overview

Students learn about the methods criminals use to steal identities online. They develop an identity theft prevention tip list and propose ways to communicate their tips to their families.

Objectives

  • Define online identity theft and describe several ways it can occur.
  • Research online identity theft and create a tip list for preventing it.
  • Communicate good online identity theft prevention practices to family members.

Site Preview

Several Web sites are recommended for optional student research:

Materials

  • Student Sheet 1 (one copy per group)
  • scissors (one per group)
  • Student Sheet 2


Introduce

Have students close their eyes for a moment. Tell them to imagine the following scene:

It's the big day! You arrive at your state motor vehicle office, several forms of identification in hand, ready to get your driver's license. The official tells you that a driver's license has already been issued to a person with your name and Social Security number, so you cannot get one.

Have students open their eyes and ask: How are you feeling? (upset, depressed, scared, angry, disappointed, confused)
Tell students that today you will explore the problem called identity theft.

Teach 1: Analyze the Problem

  • Divide the class into small groups.
  • Distribute one copy of Student Sheet 1 to each group and have students cut apart the cards on their sheet.
  • Depending on the number of groups in the class, allow each group to choose a different subset of cards from among the 12 cards on the sheet. Make sure that every card is assigned to at least one group.
  • Then have each group record what they know about the term and three essential questions describing what they think they need to know related to identity theft.
  • Allow the groups to present to the rest of the class what they know and need to know and why they need to know it. In a discussion, they may discover disagreements or realize they hold misconceptions.

Teach 2: Think About It

Distribute Student Sheet 2.

  • Have students read and discuss each section. This sheet provides an overview of identity theft.
    Have students refer to the essential questions they wrote in Teach 1 and determine which ones were answered and which ones were not.
  • If groups have unanswered or additional questions, allow them to seek answers by planning and carrying out online research at the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Site, the National Cyber Security Alliance's site called Stay Safe Online, or Bank of America's Helpful Tips: Identity Theft.
  • If any group completes its research before the others, have those students visit the Federal Trade Commission's Your Access to Free Credit Reports page to learn how to order a free credit report. Then have the students in that group present what they learned to the rest of the class.

Teach 3: Find Solutions

  • Review with students the Be CyberSmart! tips.
  • Then have them add more tips to the list based on what they learned in class and their research on their essential questions.

Teach 4: Take Action

  • Have students brainstorm ways to communicate messages about online identity theft that they can use to remind themselves and their families when they go online. They may choose to make their own videos, posters, cartoons, or reminders on sticky notes.
  • To inspire their creativity, allow students to view the popular Citibank Identity theft commercials.

    Use Web 2.0 tools, such as a wiki, to enable students to post and discuss their ideas regarding ways to communicate identity theft messages. Include in the wiki any cartoons, posters, or videos they create.

Close

  • Ask: What does it mean to have your identity stolen, and how does it happen online?
  • Ask:What are three ways that people can avoid online identity theft?
  • Ask: How can you remind family members about online identity theft prevention?

Extend

Students will benefit by revisiting this lesson each year. For students who completed this lesson in a previous grade, have them play the online game from the U.S. government called ID Theft FaceOff!