Identity Theft Happens to Children Too

Linda Raker recently received some troubling information from a collection agency, according to the Greensboro News Record, a newspaper in North Carolina. The agency sought payment for a telephone and natural gas bill. The name on the bill belonged to her three year old granddaughter. Since toddlers don’t have a habit of ordering utility service, it was easy to tell that the child had been the victim of identity theft. You may think it’s strange for this crime to affect someone so young. You may not even have known that it is possible. But sadly, it is all too common.

Pretty much all identity thieves need to go on to create a false account is a valid Social Security number. Most children have these soon after they’re born. And, according to Javelin Strategy and Research, over 1 million American children were affected by data breaches in 2006, so this gives thieves a lot of numbers to work with. A study by Debix also showed that one child in every classroom will become the victim of identity theft.

So what can you do to protect your children and grandchildren? First of all, get copies of their credit reports. This will be a bit more difficult than requesting your own, which is a good thing. That means that the credit bureaus are working to safeguard the children’s security. You will need a copy of your child’s birth certificate and Social Security card, plus your personal identification and proof of address. See the FAQ section of annualcreditreport.com for exact instructions. Each credit bureau operates somewhat differently, so it’s good to check the website for Experian, Equifax and TransUnion for updates before you make your request.

Most likely each bureau will respond that your child or grandchild has no credit history. This is absolutely what you want to hear. If the child hasn’t opened any credit accounts there should be nothing on record. The problem arises when the bureaus do find something; however, be grateful that it’s discovered and you now can do something about it.

The first thing you should do is contact the company that issued the credit and explain that it was obtained illegally. It should be obvious to the company that your child didn’t actually authorize the purchase, and hopefully a refund will soon be in order. Second, put a fraud alert on your child’s credit report. Again, each credit bureau’s website will be your best recourse for how to get this done in a timely fashion. When you talk to one bureau, the representative may tell you that they all three share information. But call the other two anyway. You want all of your bases covered just in case.

Finally, report the crime to law enforcement. Though it can be difficult to catch identity thieves at times since they often operate internationally, you’d be surprised how many are actually just around the corner. For example, in the case of Linda Raker’s granddaughter, the thief was actually a family member, which explains the access to the child’s personal information. He was charged with identity theft and obtaining property under false pretense, which may not have happened if Raker hadn’t contacted the local sheriff’s department. Consider protecting your child’s identity with one of the credit protection services listed on our comparison chart.