The easiest and most ideal target for identity thieves are children. Children have fresh and unblemished credit records that most likely will not be checked for quite some time. Up to 500,000 cases of identity theft per year, involve children. This makes up about 5% of all cases of identity theft that are reported to the FTC. Where do identity thieves find this information? Pediatricians’ offices, schools, even internet profiles that are composed of identifying information. Even though the children are young, most companies do not check the age of the owner of the social security number given and therefore, the owner’s age is not revealed until fraud is reported. Even though it seems this type of identity theft should be easily rectified, the opposite holds true. Child identity theft is very hard to deal with and many institutions are not prepared to handle such claims. Unfortunately, the children suffer in early adulthood when they go to apply for college loans or to start building their own credit, only to find out that they already have a bad credit rating. Some might even receive collection notices or worse.
(more…)

Many are becoming aware of the crime identity theft and the affect is has on one’s credit and their sense of security. But what about when it happens to a child? Children are often overlooked as targets of identity thieves because of their age. The fact is that credit bureaus do not track the age of the credit applicant, so once a social security number is issued, it can be stolen no matter what the age of the owner. Since parents and guardians do not normally check the credit history of their children, it is not until the child becomes of age to begin needing their credit that a problem is discovered.
(more…)

Even though we do not normally think of children as becoming victims of identity theft, it is best to be on the cautious side when it comes to their protection. Many children have become victims of identity theft without knowing until they begin their adult life in the financial world.
(more…)

Parents have many different things they worry about when it comes to their children. They worry about health, safety, education and many other facets of life. What they don’t normally worry about, is the safety of their child’s identity.

Javelin Strategy and Research have recently released a study that shows the scary statistics relating to the identities of children. In this study, it was found that:
(more…)

Around 1,700 brokers for Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Louisiana had their personal data exposed in late September. Around September 25th, an email that was being sent to brokers to make them aware of a software upgrade, ended up including their personal data as an attachment, in error. The data exposed included addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers. No customer data was included with this email and this email was not sent to customers. Only brokers are involved.
(more…)

Are you a parent who worries about protecting the identity of their child(ren)? It would be nice to think that all parents would, however, that is not the case. In the case of thousands of children, identity theft is a little too “close to home.”
(more…)

Many times when we think of identity theft, we think of the affect it has on adults, especially those who are working. However, many thieves have focused on using the identity of children to commit their criminal acts. In many cases, by the time that any one realizes the child has been victimized, the amount of debt accumulated under that identity is astounding. This is due to the fact that many do not realize any activity has taken place until the child is old enough to try to apply for a college loan or get their own apartment. Criminals who focus on this type of identity theft will use the child’s information until the credit history is completely damaged, making it impossible for them (or the individual) to get any credit. (more…)