Teacher steals identities of former students

May 13, 2010 – 1:51 pm

Teachers are supposed to be in a position of trust. As parents, we entrust our children’s safety, education and — to a certain degree — morals to an educator’s care. That must be why teachers are held to a higher degree and, when found wanting, have that much further to fall. In this case, it was Mrs. Sheyla Diaz (pictured) who taught in Broward County, Florida. I refer to Mrs. Diaz’s teaching career in the past tense because it’s now over after pleading guilty to stealing the identity of one of her students.

You might find it a bit strange that Mrs. Diaz was the Social Sciences teacher at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida. She was responsible for teaching her students about law and economics. I wonder if identity theft or credit fraud were topics that came up in her class? If so, she should know a thing or two about them.

Police say she used information gained from school computers to pull information on six students from the school — four of which attended Monarch High while she taught there. Using that stolen information she applied for credit cards and racked up about $2,200 worth. She has since pled guilty and will be sentenced in federal court on July 23rd.

It just goes to show you really can’t trust anyone. Which is why identity theft prevention services like LifeLock are something to think about. It’s bad to think your child can become an identity theft victim but it happens to many every day (over 500,000 a year). That’s why LifeLock provides you with early notification if your child’s name is used in a credit application or other services. After all, as a parent, it’s your responsibility to protect your children from harm.

Bookmark It