Pre-Reading Discussion Questions

Name: ______Date: ______

What is identity theft?
Do you think identity theft is a big problem in Canada?
How do you think thieves steal your personal information?
Name three things you do to keep your personal information safe.
Do you look carefully at all your monthly statements? Why or why not?
Have you ever received an email from a stranger with a link for you to click? Did you click it?
Do you ever send personal information via email?
Do you shop on the internet?
If you have children, do your kids have Facebook accounts?
Do you have security software on your home computer?
Is it up to date?

Name: ______Date: ______

Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your knowledge or consent.Identity thieves steal personal information and use it to buy things or commit crimes in your name.

In addition to names, addresses and phone numbers, thieves look for:

Social insurance numbers
Driver's license numbers
Credit card and banking information
Bank cards
Birth certificates
Passports

Identity thieves can use stolen identities to buy things, open new bank accounts, apply for loans, credit cards and social benefits, rent apartments and even commit more serious crimes.

How Can an Identity Thief Get Your Personal Information?

Identity thieves may get your personal information by:

Taking mail from your mailbox
Stealing information from wallets, purses, mail, your home, vehicle, computer, and websites you've visited or emails
Looking in your garbage can or recycling bin
Pretending to be a creditor, landlord or employer to get your credit report
Skimming your bank card at an ATM or Interac terminal to get your bank account number and PIN
Buying the information from a dishonest employee working where personal and/or financial information is kept.

Name: ______Date: ______

How Can I Protect My Identity?

Always store cards and documents in a secure place, and shred them after they expire.
Always look at statements from banks, credit cards and companies regularly and report any discrepancies right away—no matter how small.
If you are going to be away from home, ask a trusted neighbour to pick up your mail, or go to your local post office and ask for Canada Post's "hold mail" service.

Protecting Yourself In The Marketplace

Carry as few cards and documents as possible.
Avoid giving out personal information over the telephone unless you've placed the call yourself or know the business.
Protect PINs and passwords.
Be aware that banks and police will never ask for your passwords or PINs.

Protecting Yourself Online

Fake websites trick consumers and collect their personal information. Be cautious when clicking on a link on an unknown website or unfamiliar email.
Never share your passwords.
Don't use e-mail to send personal information.
After banking or shopping on the internet, sign out of the website and clear your cache.
Before giving your credit card number or other financial information to a business, make sure that their website is protected and secured. Look for a lock symbol or make sure the URL begins with "https://".
There are many types of frauds and scams. Many of them look very real.
Teach children to keep their identities confidential in chat rooms, bulletin boards or newsgroups. Help them choose screen names that do not identify them, and to understand that any information they exchange on the Internet is not private.
Install security software on your computer and keep it up to date.

Text adapted from Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services - © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2008

Name: ______Date: ______

True or false?

Identity theft occurs when you let your husband or wife use your bank card.
It is a good idea to shred old bank statements before throwing them away or recycling the paper.
You don’t need to worry about small purchases on your debit/credit card that you did not make.
After shopping on the Internet, just close the internet browser. The history of what you typed will disappear.
If the police call you, it is okay to give them your PIN or password.
If the bank calls you, it is okay to give them your PIN or password.
You should carry all your credit cards and bank cards in your wallet every day.
If you see at the beginning of a web address, it is secure.
You shouldn’t let mail stack up when you go on vacation.
Identity thieves look through people’s garbage.

Name: ______Date: ______

VERBS

1. shred / a. take something without permission or legal right
2. steal / b. select by pressing the computer mouse button
3. share / c. make an untrue claim about something
4. clear / d. cut into many small pieces
5. trick / e. tell about what happened
6. pretend / f. let someone use something
7. report / g. delete data
8. click on / h. deceive

After giving personal information on the Internet, always ______your cache.
Don’t just put personal papers in the recycling. You should ______them.
If you see anything strange on a monthly statement, ______it right away.
Never ______a link in a strange email.
Don’t ______your passwords or PINs with others.
Identity thieves ______people’s personal information.
Sometimes thieves ______to be employers or landlords.
Fake websites can ______people.

NOUNS

1. consent / a. a pocket-sized money holder
2. thief / b. Internet address
3. wallet / c. permission
4. website / d. someone who steals
5. crime / e. memory for computer data
6. cache / f. a website where people “talk” to each other
7. chat room / g. law-breaking
8. URL / h. a page or group of pages on the Internet

Keep your ______in a safe place.
Children should not give their real names in ______.
Identity theft is when someone takes your personal information without your knowledge or ______.
An identity ______can use your information to buy things or commit ______.
After you shop on the Internet, be sure to clear your ______.
If a ______is secure, the ______will begin with

Name: ______Date: ______

1.Oral practice: substitute other subject pronouns and corresponding possessive adjectives for “you” and “your.”

a.Do you shred your personal mail?

b.After shopping online, do you clear your browser’s cache?

c.Do you keep your cards and documents in a safe place?

d.Do you always look carefully at your monthly statements?

2.Oral practice: make plural subjects singular and singular ones plural.

a.An identity thief steals personal information.

b.He uses my personal information without my knowledge or consent.

c.She takes mail from people’s mailboxes.

d.They open new bank accounts.

e.Fake websites trick consumers.

3.Oral practice: make negative statements positive and positive ones negative.

a.He looks at his monthly statements.

b.She clears her browser’s cache.

c.We don’t shred our private mail

d.The identity thief committed a serious crime.

4.Oral or written practice: put a synonym in place of the underlined words or group of words.

a.I keep my pocket-sized money holder in my back pocket.

b.I always cut up my bank statements before throwing them away.

c.He selects a link by pressing the mouse button.

d.Let’s tell the police about what happened.

e.Tell the bank about the strange charge on your statement.

f.Fake websites can deceive consumers.

g.Don’t let anyone use your password.

h.After shopping on the Internet, delete your browsing history.

i.Kelly’s web address is my-teacherkelly.blogspot.com.

j.People who steal personal information are sneaky.

k.If a page on the Internet is secure, it will begin with https.

l.Identity thieves can use your name to break the law.

5.The following language chunks or expressions are very common and useful. Let’s practice using them in different situations.

a.No matter______, ______.

b.______, no matter how ______.

c.No matter ______, ______.

d.Be aware that ______.

e.Be aware that ______.

f.Be aware that ______.

g.Make sure that ______.

h.Make sure that ______.

i.Make sure that ______.

Name: ______Date: ______

How many of these adjectives have opposites?

dishonest
financial
aware
private
personal
fake
secure
new
social
unfamiliar
trusted
local
possible
serious
cautious
protected