<prompt> Human: Hello, my father called me out of the blue yesterday after no contact with me for several months and offered to open a savings account for my kids that he would put money into. However, the suddenness is surprising and seems suspicious. He said he would need their full social security numbers, middle initial and a copy of their birth certificate.Am I right in feeling apprehensive about releasing this information to him? Are there other alternatives i can suggest without sound rude that would limit his access to this information? Help please!  <response>: A bit fishy.You know what would solve the problem? Create a 529 plan yourself and name one of your kids as the beneficiary. Please read through the link to see how these plans work. In short, they allow for tax-free growth on money that can be used for college expenses for your kids. You can even name one kid a beneficiary, and switch beneficiaries later. You can start the plan yourself and then just tell your dad he can contribute money to that. He doesnt need a SSN or birth certificate to do it either.Youll figure out real fast if hes been bit by the altruism bug or if hes up to something else. Off the cuff, it sounds like hes either trying to steal their identities or hide money from an audit or bankrupcy. 