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Adult and Community Learning Services

Financial Literacy Resources

When Bad Things Happen To Your Good Name
Avoiding Identity Theft, Privacy Fraud and Scams

The threat of identity theft is ever increasing and its consequence financially complex and emotionally stressful. Laws passed in 39 states and services offered by the three major credit bureaus can help avoid the time-consuming and usually costly process of recovering an identity damaged from opened fraudulent bank accounts and credit cards. Identity theft can happen to anyone, at any time. Helping our students understand and protect themselves can be incorporated into life skills lessons (navigating systems) and expand students' knowledge of financial systems.

This is the official Federal Trade Commission website designed to learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information for consumers on how to deter, detect, and defend against identity theft. It also offers an AvoID Theft Consumer Education Kit, in English and Spanish, to help empower consumers to protect themselves. Materials are free and some can be downloaded. While this is not a curriculum these materials can be used as supplemental materials in a financial literacy unit or as part of a workshop on the crime of identity theft.

Know the Massachusetts state Identity Theft Law that went into effect on October 31, 2007. This law provides for certain protections for Massachusetts consumers and allows consumers to take specific steps in case of a breach of personal information. Reading the website may not be immediately useful for some students; however, information from this website regarding the new law can be included in and adapted to other materials by teachers.

Identity theft can happen in many ways. From the stolen wallet or the lost credit card to e-mail "phishing", where the consumer can be lured into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. Tips for avoiding Internet fraud can be found on the website from the National Consumer League. Up to date on the latest scams this site can be incorporated into a financial/computer literacy activity. The site also includes a link to telemarketing fraud tips with a link to a Spanish version of the tips.