Child Identity Theft is something that is not often discussed, because it simply appears as a minor blip on the radar screen of the U.S. media. Although the notion of robbing a child’s identity is not pleasant, let’s face it, it doesn’t have the blood, guts and gore that negative alluring stories often have with the press. Much the same, law enforcement pays little attention to it because quite often, it goes unreported much like many adult identity theft cases. One reason is due to the lapse of time between the commission of the crime, and the realization that it has happened.

Many cases of Child Identity Theft for are not recognized by a parent for years to come, until a child becomes of adult age (i.e. 18 years old), when attempts are made for instance in applying for a regular or college loan, or even a credit card. Then the havoc begins, as the former child, now a young adult, is denied credit, or starts receiving one collection notice after another. How does this happen? Very simple. It happens in the exact same way that you as an adult can have your information stolen. 

However, criminals know that children are prime targets because the chances of discovering their victimized status are slim to none during the childhood years. And in retrospect, you as a parent start to remember the several or more credit solicitations your child received in the past years, that the family thought was so cute. Unbeknownst to you and your spouse however, your child’s future credit was being chiseled away right before your eyes.
 

Hence, the problem for the child victim continues to grow because the foundation of a child’s future credit is now being built upon fraud. And as per a 2003 Federal Trade Commission survey, new account fraud victims spend much more time and money restoring their credit compared with victims who had just their existing accounts tampered with. 

Worst then the ruined credit aspect to compromising a child’s identity, an Identity Thief’s motives may be more than just the financial motives. A criminal may engage in Identity Cloning, which is defined as the compromising of one’s identity by another for purposes of concealment. Concealment, in regards to for instance, an illegal immigrant’s desire to disguise their illegal status, or even a criminal who has outstanding warrants for their arrest and requires a new identity to start their life all over again. Now just imagine, with the latter situation (also referred to as Criminal Identity Theft), much like innocent adults who have been arrested for crimes committed falsely under their names, much the same can happen to a child even years later on a routine police motor vehicle stop.

There are two phases of discovery that occur in Child Identity Theft. They are the Pre-Adult Parental Discovery Phase, and then the Initial Adult Discovery Phase. The scenarios in either phase may serve as follows:

Pre-Adult Parental and Initial Adult Discovery Phases:

- When a Police Officer knocks on your door and your worst nightmare 
           happens. Your child is cuffed and whisked off to jail for a crime they never
           committed.

-          When your child starts to receive several or more credit or loan
            solicitations.

-          Better yet. When collection notices begin to come in the mail under your
            child’s name. 

-          When your son or daughter attempt to apply for a loan, credit card, or
           college loan, and their credit is denied because of a bad credit history.

-           When your child turns of driving age and goes to the DMV and applies for
             a license. And then the clerk asks if this license is going to serve as a
             duplicate license since an initial license had been issued several
             years ago.

-           When your pre driving age child starts receiving moving violations or
             even parking ticket summonses in the mail.

-           When your child attempts to open a bank, checking, or savings account.
             This can also occur when you attempt to open any accounts on behalf of
             your child.

-           When your child is denied employment, tenancy, or even in matters of
              car insurance, is quoted an extremely high rate.
 

So What Can You Do As A Parent?

Some of the aforementioned scenarios can serve as early warning signs to you and your family to take action, whereas the others are all after the fact situations. But what early signs should you be looking for?

Well as previously mentioned, one of the bigger signs that should send red flags throughout your mind are the credit or loan solicitations in the mail for your child. One or two solicitations may be innocent mistakes (personally by the second one I would get concerned about it). But three or more, should definitely sound off sirens.

Here are eight must take steps you should employ, some of which are just precautionary measure, where the others should be initiate when you suspect your child has been victimized.

STEP # 1:  Immediately obtain credit reports on your child from all three credit 
                   bureaus (Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax). As a matter of fact, 
                   much like for yourself and your spouse, you should obtain credit 
                   histories once a year on your children, just to make sure nothing 
                   suspicious appears on them. Contact information for all 3 credit 
                   bureaus is located on the very last page of this report.

STEP # 2:  Second, much like yourself, who should not be carrying your social 
                   security card around, do not under any circumstances do the same 
                   with your child’s card. If your wallet or purse is stolen, then a thief 
                   can obviously do the same harm to your child with their SSN number, 
                   as they could with yours.

STEP # 3:   Third, be careful with freely giving out your child’s social security 
                    number. Always ask anyone who asks for it, why they need it? And 
                    then determine for yourself why any company, school, or 
                    organization would really need your child’s SSN number. After all, 
                    your child isn’t applying for a loan or even paying taxes.

STEP # 4:    Needless to say also, much like with your own sensitive records, 
                     make sure any documents that bear your child’s date of birth and or 
                     SSN number that you discard are completely shredded. So invest in 
                     a $20 or $30 shredder. In this day and age, it should serve no 
                     longer as a luxury but is rather a necessity.

STEP # 5:     Be internet conscious with your child. Much as I trust that you teach 
                     your child to be wary of internet strangers and unacceptable 
                     websites, you should be careful that your child, particularly as they 
                     reach their later teenage years, are aware of basic email scams 
                     such as “phishing” and “vishing” emails. And if you don’t know about 
                     these schemes, then you should educate yourself as well.

STEP # 6:     If you have established that your child has been victimized, then
                      by all means, file a police report immediately. Then obtain a copy
                      of the report for your files.

STEP # 7:     Consider consulting with an attorney. Why? Well this is your
                     child’s future credit at stake. Many adult victims for instance have
                     attempted to clear up their own credit only after months of their own 
                     and sometime futile investigative efforts, as well as money
                     expended and time lost from work. Expect to do the same for your 
                     child. And although there are credit monitoring services and identity 
                     theft plans out there for adults, there are no services that exist for a 
                     child under such circumstances. 

                     However, if you do not know an attorney or cannot afford the high 
                     cost of hiring one, you should seriously consider paying for a Pre-
                     Paid Legal Service Plan, which serves as a cost effective insurance 
                     plan, that could assist you and your family in such situations as well 
                     as an array of other “life events” at the fraction of the cost of paying 
                     an independent attorney. 

STEP # 8:    Lastly, you should seriously consider having photo identification or a 
                     passport made for your child, so that in an ID Theft case, your
                     child’s identity can be established without question if anyone ever
                     questions it.
 

One question, however, that may be looming in your mind may be, “Is it worth getting another Social Security for your child when Identity Theft does happen”? The answer to that question depends on the circumstances and the extent of the damage caused by the Identity Theft. Although the requirements and standards set by the Social Security Administration for changing one’s social security numbers are strict, it may possibly serve as a good idea for your child. Reason being, that unlike in adult status, your child has not begun their life of credit so to speak. Unlike for an adult who changes their SSN number, which requires a total disassociation from every financial, employer, and governmental record, a child’s new SSN number is like starting with a clean slate with no legitimate credit, or employer ties to that number.

A word of caution though. In my prior experience as a Police Officer and Detective, I vividly recall dealing with one adult victim whose Identity was victimized. He changed his SSN number, only to realize that his old number, although inactive, apparently continued to follow him throughout his credit files and was therefore never truly obliterated. Therefore, prior to undertaking this task, realize this potential risk.

One more important piece of advice, and I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but any incident of Child Identity Theft should be reported immediately to law enforcement. Much like any other crime, parents, in addition to being vigilant should be proactive in filing a report to the police. If for anything, even if the criminal case remains unsolved, having the incident properly documented will prove to any creditor or governmental agency that your child was, in fact, victimized.

A concluding thought to ponder is this. Much like there are sexual predators out there who prey upon children via the internet or in the outside world, there are identity thieves who prey upon them as well. Identity Theft is non discriminatory. Instead it serves as an equal opportunity method of havoc to anyone who has a social security number, regardless of age, race, sex, or socioeconomic status. The sooner we begin to realize that it is not a matter of whether Identity Theft
will happen, it’s a matter of only when, then the more vigilant we will become as a society, and the more prepared we will be when it does happen. 

CREDIT REPORTING BUREAUS CONTACT INFORMATION

Equifax:
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348
Report Fraud: Call 800-525-6285

Experian: (formerly TRW)
P.O. Box 9532
Allen Texas 75013
Report Fraud: Call 888- EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)

Trans Union:
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834
Report Fraud: call 800-680-7289