Do Culinary Arts College Students Need Identity Protection?

It's amazing how in today's world technology can be both a blessing and a curse at the same time.  When you apply to a culinary arts college online, or even request information via the web, you most likely know that you are taking some risk.  If you have ever taken the time to read the terms and conditions or privacy statements on just about any website, you will see words like "share information", or "cannot be responsible for what other websites do with the information you provide", or "please read the terms and conditions for the other website you will be visiting", etc.  They all differ in one way or another with the way they state their privacy policies.

If you are applying for a culinary arts college financial aid loan online, you need to be especially careful about reading the terms and conditions of the websites you are visiting.  You will also want to make sure that the website is secure by looking in the search bar for the all important "https" instead of just "http".  Also, on many sites, if you look to the bottom right of your page, you will see a picture of a lock.  If the lock is open then the site is not secure.  If it is closed (kind of like the one you may have used in a gym locker), the site is supposed to be secure.

In addition to checking items like the search bar and the lock to see if your site is secure, you may want to have a backup in place.  There are companies who do provide identity theft protection but not all of those companies are alike.  The problem is that many of those companies alert you after a problem has occurred and by then, your most critical information may have already been gleaned.  There is a company who is proactive though and prides itself on providing what they call an early warning system.  This company, IdentityHawk, will alert you when there is any suspicious activity on any of your accounts that you register, before something happens.  They will also point out weaknesses that might help thieves target your information.   IdentityHawk also offers a free 30 day trial to their program.  This should be an ample amount of time for you to determine if this great service will pass the test for protecting your name, your property and your identity.

Once again, technology is great and convenient for the culinary art student, but registering online or even taking courses online opens one up to information thieves who would stop at nothing to get any type of valuable information from you that they can.  Protect yourself by being aware of the basic protections offered in the search bar, through the lock, by reading the privacy portion of websites and by utilizing the services of a proven identity protection program like IdentityHawk.