We often think of identity theft as an adult problem, but children are frequently targets for as it’s unlikely to be noticed for years (when the now-grown-up child applies for credit themselves). For less than the price of a morning coffee, a person could buy your child’s Social Security number and use it to build a fake credit file—allowing them to take out loans and credit cards in your child’s name.

Starting today, you can freeze your credit files at no cost. A security freeze prevents new creditors (i.e. credit card companies or lenders) from seeing your credit reports—stopping fraudulent new accounts from being opened in your name.

For full effectiveness, you must request a freeze from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (their websites will provide instructions):

Noted Twitch streamer Guy Beahm, who streams under the name “Dr.

Returning to school or heading off to college for the first time can be very exciting—new places, new friends and new experiences. Unfortunately, along with these great new opportunities comes the increased risk to your personal privacy. Being a college student today opens the door to a variety of unique security risks.

Did you know that your child’s school can share personal information about your child to third parties without your consent? The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows public schools to release what’s known as directory information to almost anyone. What directory information is can vary from school to school, but it may include your child’s

This week, the Associated Press (AP) reported a stunning revelation regarding Google’s location-tracking practices. According to their report, Google has been storing users’ location data even when they turn Location History off in their privacy settings.

During Prime Day this year, you may have purchased your first Echo or added another one of the Echo-line of products (Dot, Show or Spot) to your home. While the Echo can do a lot for you, you may want to consider checking these features and settings before ending up like the Portland couple who’s Echo shared their private conversations without their knowledge.

California—providing its residents the right to privacy in its state constitution—has historically led the nation in consumer privacy. Today, California could take the lead again by passing into law the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (AB 375), a bill that alters the state’s privacy landscape. This bill would bring a much-needed expansion of consumer privacy protections by giving us more control over how our personal information is used and shared.

Fraud alerts and security freezes are both important tools that can help you protect yourself from identity theft by preventing credit card, phone and loan accounts from being opened in your name. However, the differences between the two and what you have to do to use them can often be confusing.

Data brokers have long operated under the radar. They regularly compile information that can result in us paying higher prices, being denied service or becoming victims of discrimination. And while other types of data collectors/distributors such as credit reporting agencies are federally-regulated, data brokers—existing in a regulatory vacuum—are not. They have also been completely free of any state regulation as well… until now.