I have a question you might not have thought about. How does your child's school handle their personal information? The reason I think you might not have thought about it is because I haven't. And now I'm concerned that I should have.

My daughter's school is going through standardized testing, and the kids are asked to provide their Social Security Numbers for the testing. The problem is, most of the kids don't know those numbers. Nor do I believe that they should. So the school pulls every child's number up, reads it out to them in class, and asks them to write it down a sticky note. Really?

Yes, really. What happens to the notes when the kids are done? Um...my daughter had no idea. She lost it somewhere. Now, suddenly, I'm very concerned about my child's identity. What are your thoughts? Share with us in the identity theft forums.

Imagine getting a text message from your bank that states your account has been compromised and you're to call a phone number listed in the text immediately. Then, when you call the number, it's actually an automated system designed to collect your banking or credit information for phishers. This is one of the newest types of phishing scams to circulate.

If something like this comes to your cell phone (or your email box, telephone, or any other way), ask yourself some questions. How did the creditor/bank get your cell phone number? Even if you gave it to them, did you agree to allow them to communicate with you via text message? Has your bank ever communicated with you using this means before?

Phishers will do whatever's necessary to get to your personal information. Protect yourself. Think before you respond. And when in doubt, call the bank or creditor directly using the number that's listed on your statement.

If you have a television, then you've probably seen the free credit report videos. They're wildly popular, and I even know teenagers that use the jingles for their ring tones. I guess you could say it's something of a pop culture phenom.

Being a pop culture phenom doesn't make you right, though. And the thing about those free credit report commercials is that the services they're advertising aren't really free. You'll end up paying some monthly fee if you use those. The only truly free credit report comes from www.annualcreditreport.com.

In an effort to help spread the word, AnnualCreditReport.com has a new series of videos to help debunk those you are already seeing on tv. Let the video duel begin.

I don't often toot my own horn, but I am going to today. I have a new series of video training courses available at ClipTraining.com. This series of courses is designed to go along with the Social Engineering courses that I've pointed out to you all earlier this year.

The series of courses that I did is simply titled Identity Theft and there are 8 clips in the series. I cover everything from what identity theft is, to what you can do if you're victimized by identity theft, so check it out. You'll need a free membership to access the clips, but I think you'll find they're worth the efforts.

Each year, the FTC releases the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book; a report that details the fraud complaints files with the FTC during the year. The 2008 report is now out, and there are some not-so-surprising numbers included in the report.

• Identity theft was represented in 29 percent of the fraud cases reported during 2008. The actual number of complaints (to the FTC) was 313,982.
• The top methods of identity theft reported (in cases where the methods were known) were: credit card fraud, government documents and benefits fraud, employment fraud, phone/utilities fraud, and bank fraud.
• 65 percent of those who reported identity theft to the FTC did notreport the crime to their local law enforcement agencies.
• Of the identity theft methods reported, credit card fraud complains and automobile-related complaints have nearly doubled.

The only one of these statistics that's really surprising is that 65 percent of people don't file police reports when they feel their identity has been stolen. That's a frightening statistic, because in severe cases of identity theft, a police report is a requirement. Please. If you've been victimized by identity theft, file a police report immediately. That should be one of your first steps to recovering your identity.

Data breaches are all over the news these days, and with the announcment that yet another payment processor has experienced a data breach, it's pretty certain that you've been put at risk at one time or another. But a new study might even up the "pretty certain" factor to complete certainty.

The study, done by Dr. Joe Campana, suggests that data breaches might be 100 times more common than reported. According to Dr. Campana, the majority of breach news that we hear (about 55%) comes from medium and large-sized organizations. Small businesses don't often report their data breaches, or they don't make national news. But there are considerably more small businesses in the US, and they suffer data breaches much the same as larger organizations.

So, it's not a matter of if your personal information has been put at risk by a data breach, but when. So, I can't say it often enough. Monitor your credit report closely for anything that's out of the ordinary. Be cautious, and always be on alert for pattern changes that might indicate someone has tapped your identity for their personal gain.

Most of you already know that I'm a big fan of Google. I've always liked the applications that they offer. But I've also known it's just a matter of time before hackers and other criminals get Google applications in their sites and begin targeting those applications with malicious software and phishing attempts.

Well, it's happened. Yesterday, Google Talk became the target of a massive phishing attack that hooked more than a few tech-people. See, tech-types tend to use Gmail and Google Talk because of the capabilities of the service. These are people that should be able to recognize a phishing scam.

It's a testament to how slick phishers are getting. And a warning for how closely you need to be guarding personal information like usernames and passwords. Never give them out unless you're absolutely certain that you know who is getting them!

I had the same reaction you probably just did. "What?" But evidently, in some places (like South Africa) identity theft has taken on a whole new facade. It seems that identity thieves are stealing people's identities and forging death documents to collect on life insurance policies.

At this time, it seems this identity theft scam is localized to South Africa, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it's something that people in the US and other countries have to worry about, too.

Who doesn't eat at McDonald's? Especially here in the US, there's a McDonald's restaurant on every corner, and a Big Mac is a requirement for many people at least one night a week. So, it comes as no surprise that McDonald's customers are being targeted by a phishing scam.

The scam is an email that claims you'll be paid $80 for filling out a survey about McDonald's. Sorry, it's a phishing attempt. If McDonald's could afford to pay out $80 for every person that took that survey, our hamburgers would cost a whole lot less. Of course, there are other clear indicators that it's phishing too. For example, there are spelling errors in the message, and the fact that they're offering $80 is too good to be true.

McDonald's has confirmed that this is a phishing scam. So, use caution, and always remember when you see something like this that sounds unbelievable...it probably is. When in doubt, contact the company directly.

Tax time is stressful by its own rights. No one likes paying taxes. But identity theft makes tax time even more stressful. Your identity is tied to your Social Security Number, which is flying around all over the place during tax time. Think about it, employers mail you forms with your SSN on it. Then you have to turn around and share those forms with a tax-preparer or send them through the mail to the IRS. You're more at risk during tax time than any other time of the year.

The IRS recognizes that and has established a committee to review the risk to your information during tax time. Unfortunately, what the committee found is that the potential for identity theft abounds. During the months between July 2007 and September 2008, the committee investigated more than 300 data breaches at the IRS that could potentially lead to identity theft.

It's frightening how at risk you really are; especially when you're at risk in ways that you might not realize. So, I'll say it again (and again, and again) get into the habit of monitoring your credit reports. Learn the signs of identity theft. And always be cautious of the dangers of identity theft.