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Identity theft is on the rise, and the new victims are your children. It's important to check your credit ratings each year with the three credit reporting agencies; Experian, Equifax, and Transunion,but have you ever checked your child's credit report too?
The Federal Trade Commission reports that for the 5th year in a row identity theft topped the list of consumer complaints. Identity theft accounted for over 37 percent of all complaints lodged in the FTC Consumer Sentinel database in 2005. That means that out of 686,683 fraud complaints in 2005, 255,565 were related to identity theft. It is estimated that almost 11 million people have been affected by this crime at this point.
From About.com - Identity Theft
Child Identity theft is also on the rise for the same reasons as adult identity theft. But, in extreme cases, child identity theft can happen years before it's actually discovered.
Types of Identity Theft
Financial Theft - Financial theft occurs where someone else impersonates your child to establish new credit (unbeknownst to you) to get goods and cash. The consumer (child) is then held responsible for the purchases, while the criminals get away with the loot.
This theft is relatively easy, low risk, and highly profitable to the criminal, which is why it is becoming more and more common. First indications about this type of identity theft can be;
- Denial of Credit - Are denied credit, mortgage or loans for a vehicle or college tuition
- Bank Rejection - Are unable to open a bank account (account exists for SSN, or bad credit shows up)
- Collection Notices - Receive collection notices or unknown billing statements
- Utilities Problems - Are denied utility or phone services
- Job Issues - Are terminated from a job or denied employment for unknown reasons
Criminal Theft - While not as common, it is still on the rise also. This type of theft is where someone else assumes your child's identity for a day-to-day purpose; Illegal immigrants, criminals using an assumed identity, and others that don't want to use/risk their real names and backgrounds.
This theft is less common, but more serious because the perpetrators can use the identity long-term. First indications about this type of identity theft can be;
- IRS Notifications - Being informed that you owe more in taxes, because more income was reported. (you + your 'other' identity) Usually restricted to illegal immigrants.
- Warrants for Arrest - Actually having arrest warrants issued in your name. Criminals DO get caught on occasion, and can give the police your information while 'pretending' to be you. It will take some reconciling, but is usually not a serious problem.
- Social Security Benefits Denied - Are denied SSI or welfare services (SSN already exists/being used)
- Driver's License Denied - When a teen is denied the right to get a driver’s license (SSN already exists). Additionally, the impersonator may already have accumulated traffic/speeding tickets as well.
Identity Cloning - This is a combination of Financial/Criminal theft where the perpetrator attempts to COMPLETELY assume someone else's life. This usually happens in the case of a child that has died. The criminals find the information in the newspaper about the child's death, and gather the necessary information to assume the identity (sometimes just the Social Security Number is enough). First indications are the same as either Financial or Criminal Theft (or both).
Actions You Can Take to Protect Your Child
Preventative - Along with your yearly check of your own credit report (you DO check your credit report yearly, don't you?) send in a filled-out copy of the following form to all three credit reporting agencies.
Letter Form 120 - Request a Child's Credit Report
Other actions to take;
- Shred all documents being thrown away that have the child's SSN
- Be careful about giving out copies of birth certificates (many, MANY school activities REQUIRE copies of birth certificates unfortunately. This is sometimes a prime way to compromise your child's SSN)
- Don't use your child's SSN as an ID number. (Colleges, private schools, etc.)
- Don't carry your child's Social Security Card with you regularly (or your own either!!). The problems with having a purse or wallet stolen is only compounded if the thief gets your SSN card also.
- Freeze your child's credit. (Check with the individual reporting agencies' policies for this)
If the Identity is Stolen - First step, call the police! Report the identity theft as soon as possible. Not reporting it gives the thief more time to damage your child's identity.
Other steps you can take;
- Order a Credit Report IMMEDIATELY (start the damage control, and find out how bad the damage is).
- For accounts that have gone to collection, use the ITRC Fact Sheet 116 Collection Agencies.
- Contact the Fraud department(s) of any creditors or banks contacting you.
- File to have the bad records removed from your child's credit report. There is a standard process for this for each of the credit reporting agencies. (Remind them that your child was under the legal age of consent, and was unable to enter into the offending agreements.)
Keeping you and your family's identities safe will save you in time, money, and headaches.
Other Resources
- Identity Theft Resource Center - Identity Theft and Children
- Deseret Morning News - Students Being Trained How to Avoid Identity Theft
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January 8th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Pretty interesting post!
I'll have to keep this stuff in mind as my kids get older.
Mike
January 13th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Identity cloning happens a lot to LDS missionaries, who leave the country for 2 years. They come back & find that someone, usually an illegal immigrant has assumed their identity.
My neighbor across the street is dealing with an illegal immigrant who is using her SSN to work in the united states. She found out because she was logging into Wells Fargo with her SSN and it took her to someone else's account. Because of the legal right to privacy (the immigrant who is breaking the law's privacy) there is very little she can do, and Wells Fargo actually allows multiple people to open accounts with the same SSN! All she can do is have her own credit monitored constantly to make sure they don't start opening credit accounts in her name, and then if they do, they can be prosecuted for theft, but until then she knows her life & financial stability hinge on the honesty of another person.
January 13th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Wow, that's pretty amazing. It still surprises me how bold some people can be in breaking the law. It's more than that though with cloning. If they don't pay the taxes due, they don't come after THEM but the person who's SSN they used.
That could get REALLY messy. They might set it up so they still pay SOME taxes (put in a bogus W-4 with 15 exceptions or something like that) and will MAYBE be found out someday, but in the meantime your neighbor is dealing with irate IRS agents wanting her to 'pay her taxes'.
Brrr,..
January 14th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
From the ITRC website:
NOTE: ITRC and the three credit reporting agencies do not recommend that you automatically check your child’s credit report annually UNLESS you have an indication of a problem. A child should not have a report unless someone has started to apply for credit using that child’s Social Security Number. To just order reports unnecessarily actually confuses the computerized systems of the reporting agencies and opens a door to thieves because it establishes a credit report.
January 14th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
That's facilitating! I had never considered my child's identity being stolen. Thanks for sharing the article.
Best Wishes,
D4L
January 14th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Admittedly this isn't a recommended procedure, but I would think that NOT checking and hoping that no one is using your child's identity would be just as bad. Once the problem occurs, the major effects might not be felt for years, by which time the child's credit has a long history that has to be sorted out.
I believe that there should be some way of verifying that the account belongs to an individual below the age of consent, and frozen until that age is reached. But to my knowledge that isn't automatic right now.
If you read the ITRC website in-depth, you'll find a number of places where the system breaks down (the allowing of credit to be established for someone underage is just the example I highlighted.) It might not be recommended practice, but I'm still going to do it until my children get to the age where they can fend for themselves.
If the credit reporting agencies fix this, I'll be happy to stop. Until then, they can just deal with the extra request.
January 21st, 2008 at 9:30 pm
You can join a identity protection company and protect you identity from theft.
Rusty
protect you identity
http://health-pictures.com/lifelock.htm
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
If you had a bad divorce and the other parent is a dirtball, you do need to check your child's credit report. I would not put it past my ex to use the kids SSN's to try to get a phone, cable or other. When I was with him, I saw his family do it and wouldn't put it past him to try it.
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
I hate that we have people in the world that would do that to their own children, but it happens. I hope you don't have this problem with your Ex though.
Good luck.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Hey people! How about trying to find out what the address is that the criminal is using???? They would have to have a physical credit card sent somewhere. Why not find that out? Also if they got a loan, wouldn't the check need to be mailed to a place the criminal has access to??? I wonder why no one else doesn't think about it.
March 14th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
That's one way of tracking them down, but it's easy to rent a mailbox somewhere, or have a mail forwarding service forward your mail. Even if you did find out their address, what can you do? You have to prove that they are stealing the identity. That means police involvement and proving that the person getting the credit card ISN'T the child. Not particularly difficult, just more hoops to jump through.
Best bet if you find out an address is to file a complaint with the police ASAP.