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Imagine this: you’re preparing for your high school graduation, and you’ve been accepted at “the” university. Everything’s in place, except for financing. So you begin to apply for student loans, excited at the prospects before you.

But your loan application is rejected. Again and again. Why? Because according to your credit report, you haven’t made a mortgage payment in four months, and you’re behind on other bills as well.

The thing is – you haven’t even finished high school, you’ve never lived anywhere but with your parents, and those other bills? Well, you’re clueless about them also.

You’ve just become the victim of identity theft.

Child identity theft is all too common, and it’s often the type of theft crooks choose because it’s often years before the theft is discovered. A child’s credit is pristine, and if a thief can get his hands on a child’s information, he can rack up debt long before the theft is uncovered. Which means when that child is ready to apply for his first car loan, he’ll likely be rejected.

If you’ve been victimized by an identity thief, there are steps you should take to get things back on track. First, report the crime to the police. Retain a copy of the police report for your files. Make sure you report the crime, even if it is a family member – you’ll never clear your name until you do.

You should also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the office of the attorney general in your state. This will help to make your case stronger and will garner you the help you need.

Next, you should contact the three credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You’ll want to obtain a copy from each, which you can get for free. Review each one, taking note of each creditor listed.

Send each creditor a letter with a copy of your birth certificate, strongly communicating that you were not old enough to open the account or take out the loan listed on your credit report. Demand that all accounts, applications for credit and collection notices be erased from your credit report. You can do so via letter or by speaking on the phone to the fraud specialist employed by the creditor. If you cannot speak to a fraud specialist, file a formal fraud dispute claim with each of the credit bureaus.

Get your parents’ help and with them, contact an attorney about changing your Social Security number. This can help protect your future credit history.

Don’t give up if you have a bit of a struggle setting things right. Remember that these things take time, and it’s worth the struggle. You’ll be glad you and your parents were able to set things right once you start college.

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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.

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LifeLock was the first identity theft protection service to recognize the necessity of protecting children from ID theft, and to provide the services to do so. Now they’re stepping up once again to protect children through their partnership with a national mentoring advocacy program.

LifeLock is underwriting MENTOR’s congressionally established SafetyNET Program, which provides nationwide FBI background checks on volunteers who work with children—the segment of our population most vulnerable to crimes, including identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission reported that 7% of the identity theft complaints they received in 2008 were from ID theft victims aged 19 or younger.

Once an unheard of crime, child identity theft is finally being brought into the light thanks to the education and protective efforts of public, private and nonprofit agencies. As a sponsor of MENTOR’s SafetyNET Program, LifeLock and MENTOR are partnering to provide “Safety Days” a program to increase awareness of identity theft risks and prevention strategies for children and adults.

Identity theft can be a devastating crime at any age, but when children are the victims they often discover the crime many years after it was committed. Child ID theft victims often enter adulthood unable to get financing for their educations or cars, and being turned down for employment or housing.

Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their innovative strategies that already protect nearly 1.5 million Americans. Enroll using the LifeLock promo code DEFENSE and pay only $9 a month for an adult membership, and as little as $2.25 a month for a child membership. Both membership plans include 30 days of free identity theft protection.

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It’s not easy for high school kids to earn $700 in a single weekend, so when 57 Hirschi High School students were invited to help out at a Wichita Falls, Texas convention for the National Association of the Deaf, they signed on immediately.

Students were especially psyched after watching the video at the website the NAD representative referred them to. They had no hesitation about providing the rep with their Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, birth dates and other information.

That excitement lasted until the very last minute before their jobs were supposed to begin. That’s when they pulled into the Wichita Falls convention center parking lot, only to find there was no NAD convention scheduled there. They’d been scammed.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, people in the under-30 age group most commonly report identity theft. Surprisingly, people too young to have credit reports are among favorite targets for identity thieves because it typically takes years for their crimes to be discovered.

A 2008 study by Javelin Strategy and Research revealed that roughly 5% of all kids have credit reports tied to their Social Security numbers, meaning someone has applied for credit using their names. That amounts to 1 identity theft victim in every classroom.

LifeLock was the first identity theft company to provide services that safeguard children’s identities so that when they need credit, they can get it. Enroll using the LifeLock promo code DEFENSE and pay only $9 a month for adult protection; add your child’s protection for only $2.25 a month. Both of you will get 30 days of free protection when you sign up.

At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

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