The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) urges parents to take steps to protect their children’s personal information following a data breach involving PowerSchool. The South Carolina Department of Education says all districts in the state except for four were included in a data breach involving the software. SCDCA encourages parents to:
-Check if your child has a credit report. Generally, a child under 18-years-old won’t have a file. Having a file could be a sign of identity theft. Contact each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax) and ask for a manual search for your child’s Social Security Number. They will require documents such as a driver’s license for proof that you are the child’s parent or guardian.
-Consider a Protected Consumer Freeze. This measure is free and allows you to create a credit file in your child’s name and place a freeze on it, preventing potential creditors from getting your child’s credit report. Place your request with each of the three credit reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion, Equifax.
-Be on guard! Scam artists follow the headlines. Don’t give personal information to someone you don’t know. You will never receive a phone call, email, text or social media message from a government agency that demands money and/or personal information. Grab a copy of SCDCA’ s Ditch the Pitch to arm yourself with information to spot and avoid scams.
For additional tips on how to protect personal information in the wake of a breach, check out our flyer on Child Identity Theft, view our Child Identity Theft webinar or visit our Security Breach page.
If someone is using your child’s info, contact SCDCA’s Identity Theft Unit at 800-922-1594 and submit an Identity Theft Intake Form. The Unit is dedicated to offering consumers tailored guidance on scams, security breaches and identity theft issues.
