Parenthood is rife with worries about school grades, summer camps, chicken pox, college savings and flu vaccines. But even the best parents overlook the threat of child ID theft—and it’s the threat that could have a biggest impact on a child’s future.
At least one child of every 20 has a file with one of the major credit reporting agencies, meaning someone has used that child’s personal information to apply for credit, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. Credit records are established using the first birth date submitted with a credit application, so ID thieves don’t have to worry about being questioned about their ages.
There are a number of reasons it’s easy and profitable to engage in child ID theft:
• The crime isn’t usually detected until the child beings applying for jobs or credit for college, cars or a first apartment.
• Parents frequently provide their children’s personal information to schools, day cares, sports organizations and after-school centers without considering how those organizations do or don’t protect personal information.
• Parents don’t think to protect their children’s personal information as carefully as they protect their own, allowing it to be accessed or used by other family members or people who work in the home.
Signs that children may have become ID theft victims include credit offers or bills arriving in the child’s name, or calls from bill collectors asking to speak to the child.
Parents should request their children’s credit reports every year when they request their own. The credit reporting agencies should reply that no credit record exists; if there is a credit record, a fraud alert should be placed on the file immediately, and a report made to the police. Contact the creditor.
Tags: child ID theft, ID theft, Identity Theft
