Did you know that child identity theft is one of the fastest growing problems with identity fraud?

Most children get a social security number early on, often because their parents need it for some reason. But because they’re young, very few parents ever think to check their kids’ credit reports for unusual activity.

If a child’s social security number is stolen, an identity thief can assume their identity and charge up a great deal of debt without ever being found out.

In many of these cases, nobody is the wiser until the child becomes an adult and gets turned down for credit because of all the problems on their credit report.

Make sure you check your children’s credit report every year when you do your own. You wouldn’t expect to find anything on it, but if you ever do you’ll be able to stop the problem before it becomes too far gone.

There’s an interesting article on PCWorld.com about how Americans have a false sense of security on the internet.

It seems that more people think they’re safe than actually are.

I guess a lot of people don’t realize that installing an internet security package isn’t a permanent fix. They need to be updated and eventually the updates stop unless you either pay to extend your subscription or use a free alternative.

Make sure you’re not surfing with a false sense of security…

Do you have a birthday and are you still breathing?

If so, you’re a potential target. Identity theft can happen to anyone with any kind of credit, bank accounts, a date of birth, a Social Security Number or any other type of personal identifying information.

And yes, that does include children. Identity thieves don’t care about the age of the person they’re pretending to be – they just want that personal information that can be used to get credit or other things in their name.

Even celebrities aren’t immune to it. Will Smith, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey have all been victims of identity theft.

Now, Will Smith could be a fairly common name so it might slip past but you’d think someone applying for credit as Oprah Winfrey or Steven Spielberg would raise a few flags.

If someone could pretend to be someone that famous and get away with it, what chance does an unknown like you or me have?

If you don’t like using strong passwords (something like SkwQ92#l for example) because they’re hard to remember, go and read the comments in this blog post about secure logins on the What You’re Doing Is Rather Desperate blog.

It’s the second comment, from someone named Guy.

This trick may not be as secure as a completely randomly generated password, but it’s a heck of a lot easier to remember.

One of the big advantages of Windows Vista over Windows XP is the addition of Parental Controls to the user account management.

With Vista you can put limits on various things such as the times your kids are allowed to use the internet, what kind of website they’re allowed to visit, specific websites they’re not allowed to visit, and the types of games they can play.

You have as little or as much control over these things as you want. You can let Windows manage it all for you, say by filtering websites based on their ratings or allowing games based on their ratings. You don’t have to worry about the specifics.

Or you can go in and specifically allow or block any website, game or program you want.

These controls are all accessed from the user accounts section in the Control Panel, which is available from the Start menu.

If you don’t already have separate user accounts set up for your kids, now is the time to do it – and then activate the parental controls for them so you don’t have to worry about what they’re doing on the computer when you’re not watching.

When you originally set up your computer, it probably asked you to enter one or more user names as part of the setup process.

Most people only enter a single name here, and everyone that uses the computer winds up using that same user account.

But setting up multiple accounts lets each user have their own documents, their own desktop pictures, their own sound effects and many other things. So if you can’t stand the desktop wallpaper that your 12 year old daughter puts on the computer, you don’t have to see it when you use it.

Creating multiple user accounts also gives you more control over security settings because you can set up new accounts as “limited” users. This means those users can’t make changes to Windows, can’t install certain types of software and many other limitations.

If you’re running Windows Vista, you can also turn on parental controls for your kids accounts, which will limit what they can access on the internet.

New user ID’s are setup through the Control Panel, in the Users section. It’s not a complicated process, but if you’re not entirely confident you can work your way through it, you may want to take a look at my Online Security Toolkit where I explain how to do it in detail.

One of the problems with Windows XP that’s been changed in Windows Vista is that the default settings for the main user account give it administrator status. That means the user can change anything on the computer, delete anything and install anything.

Running in an administrator account all the time is one of the reasons XP was more vulnerable to things like spyware, viruses, trojans and other attacks. Because the user is an administrator, those things had pretty much free reign over the computer.

In Vista, the main user account is more limited and you have to enter a password every time you do something that needs administrator access.

Whether the way Vista handles it is the best way is another topic. Those constant prompts asking for your password can get annoying, but that’s the price you pay for higher security I suppose.

If you’re running XP, you can still set up a limited user account which will help prevent some of these things from infecting your computer.

Whether you’re on Windows XP or Vista, it’s never a good idea to use an administrator account all the time. Do the bulk of your work in a limited account and only switch to the administrator account for things that require it.

Yes, that means having two separate accounts even if you’re the only person who uses the machine.

Here are some more strategies for user accounts on Windows:

• Each user on the computer should have their own account
• Don’t store any private files in the “Public” shared folder – all users on the computer can access it
• On Vista, you should turn on parental controls as appropriate for any children’s accounts (XP doesn’t have parental controls built-in)
• Don’t share the administrator account password with anyone, and make sure it’s strong enough that it can’t be guessed

I’ll be posting more details on how to do these things over the next few days, but to get all the information in one place take a look at my Online Security Toolkit.

Remember the Mission Impossible TV show and movies, when the IMF guy would peel away the rubber mask that he was wearing to look like someone else?

A cool effect, sure, but in reality a thief doesn’t have to look anything like you to steal your identity.

No rubber masks are necessary – just the right identifying information.

That’s why you need to keep yourself safe from identity theft. Sure, your local bank teller may know what you really look like but if the thief walks into a bank across the country with all the proper credentials to be you, they won’t know the difference.

And over the phone or internet, nobody knows what you look like.

These guys aren’t necessarily in it for the long haul. They steal your identity, use it for all they can and then move on to the next victim. Don’t let yourself get overconfident about your safety.

After all, that old saying is true – it’s better to be safe than sorry.

What’s the biggest security threat to your computer & personal information? Is it viruses? Spyware? Unknown email attachments?

No, the biggest security threat is an uneducated user. People who don’t understand the threats to online security.

It doesn’t matter how much you know about protecting yourself if someone else sits down at your computer and opens that bad attachment or downloads some kind of spyware.

If your computer is used by anyone else – other people in your family or co-workers for example – you need to make sure they’re familiar with internet security as well.

Otherwise all your efforts to protect yourself could go up in smoke with one bad click of the mouse.

It’s a good idea to create a security strategy for your computer and internet use, to give you guidelines to follow for keeping yourself and your information safe.

It’s really not as complicated as it might sound. Let’s think in terms of your security strategy for your home.

When you leave the house, what do you do?

• Make sure all appliances are off
• Make sure all windows and doors are locked or safe from break-ins
• Set your burglar alarm
• Have someone pick up your mail and/or newspapers if you’ll be away for any length of time

You probably do some of these (like making sure all your appliances are off) without having to think about it, and you may have more things that are part of your routine.

The point is, this is a security strategy for your home. Coming up with something similar for your computer is pretty straightforward.

• Never open unknown email attachments
• Never install software from an unknown source
• Never reveal personal information to an unknown source
• Always use strong passwords

Having a list of guidelines that you always have to follow leaves less room for mistakes when something unexpected pops up. If it helps, you could print out the list and post it by the computer so you won’t forget and anyone else in your family that uses the computer will also have them to refer to.

If you’re wondering what should go into your security strategy, my Online Security Toolkit will give you plenty of ways to keep yourself safe and secure on the internet.

It’s scary to think how many people I talk to that know about identity theft but think that they’re not at risk. I don’t know if they just don’t understand it well enough or they think that they’re not rich enough, well known enough or something that keeps them from being a target.

I certainly hope you’re not in that camp. I mean, take a look at these stats from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), released in September 2003:

• 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the last 5 years

• The total cost of identity theft to consumers is $5 billion and the total cost to financial institutions is $33 billion

• Complaints filed with the FTC in 2003 about identity theft were up 42 percent

• According to CBSNews.com, someone’s identity is stolen every 79 seconds – and the thief opens accounts in their name and goes on a spending spree

And these stats are from almost 5 years ago – don’t you think it’s probably even worse today?

Don’t underestimate your chances of having your identity stolen. Take the necessary precautions to be safe.