The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

With the expanding Internet we hear more about identity theft and fraud.  Teaching our teens about the dangers of identity theft as well as how to protect their private information is part of parenting. Fraud Facts: Your bank will never email or call you for your account number.  Talk to your teen about not giving out their account numbers, PIN's or their social security number. Don't wire money to people you don't know.  With the growing social networks and online shopping, teens have to beware of all scams that can involve wire transfers. Check out the company with the Better Business Bureau.  Although there may be many businesses that are not members, you can do a simply Internet Search to detect if there are any valid issues against a business.  There are no legitimate jobs that involve reshipping items or financial instruments from you home. Foreign lotteries are illegal in teh U.S. You can't win money no matter what they say to you. Check...

Keeping our kids safe in cyberspace has become one of the top priorities for parents. Net Cetera was launched by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) for parents. Net Cetera: Chatting With Kids About Being Online, OnGuard Online gives adults practical tips to help kids navigate the online world. Recently YouAreHere: Where Kids Learn to be Smarter Consumers was created for kids as a compliment to Net Cetera in continuing to help you keep your kids safe online. This FTC website teaches your kids about privacy and fraud. The site takes visitors to a virtual mall, where they can play games, watch short animated films, and interact with customers and store owners. As they explore areas of the mall, visitors learn how advertising affects them, how to protect their privacy and avoid identity theft, how to spot and avoid frauds and scams, and how they benefit when businesses compete. For parents and teachers , the site has detailed fact sheets with ideas for related activities. The act...