Is Your Child At Risk For Identity Theft?

Many may not realize this but child identity theft is one of the fastest growing forms of fraud in the US.  According to the Federal Trade Commission almost 5% of all identity theft cases in the US target children.   Believe it or not approximately 54% of these cases target children under six.  Shocked?  So am I, here's why it happens....

The main reason children are targeted is their credit is a clean slate.  Once a thief gets access to the Childs name and social security number they can then apply for credit.  They add a phony address and other needed information and it's as easy as that.  Once the thief is granted credit the accounts are cultivated long enough to establish higher limits.  They make purchases and then disappear leaving a mucky future for the child.  Unfortunately this usually goes unnoticed until the child is old enough to apply for credit and come to find out they have a long history of bad credit. 

Here are the red flags to watch out for:

1) Medical, dental, and hospital records
2) Youth organizations, such as boy scouts and girl scouts
3) Info accessible To volunteers
4) Registering for daycare, sports teams, and schools
5) Internet thief posing on internet conning people for their sensitive information
6) Receiving solicitations for credit cards and other financial offers for your child

Keep in mind, any information that is not stored by secure entity is at risk.

If you feel your child is at risk you can setup a monitoring system for them.  You will get an alert any time their info comes up.  You can also purchase a credit report two to three times a year until the child turns eighteen, then they entitled to a free report each year.  Unfortunately we need to think about these things in today's world.  It's better to be safe then sorry and always expect the unexpected!