Why Kids are Popular Targets for ID Theft

Nobody wants to get their identity stolen. Unfortunately, identity theft is a growing crime, and causes hardship to anybody that becomes a victim. A stolen identity can ruin your credit, make it more difficult to get a loan, and in some cases, can even make it more difficult to get a job. Because your credit rating is a factor in determining how much you’ll pay for loans and insurance, you want to protect yourself from getting your identity stolen. If you have children, you also want to make sure that their identities are protected. The Federal Trade Commission has reported that 400,000 children have their identity stolen on an annual basis. Children often have their credit stolen, for several different reasons.

Kids Don’t Have Poor Credit

Although kids often make poor choices, they don’t normally make poor choices with their credit, because they don’t take out loans or get credit cards. Identity thieves know that they don’t have to worry about stealing a child’s identity only to find multiple bankruptcies and a string of late payments. No credit record is better than a bad credit record, which makes them attractive targets for identity theft. This is also one reason why, in recent years, some parents with poor credit have made the news for stealing their own child’s identity and using their credit.

Kids Don’t Check Their Credit Regularly

When was the last time you checked your child’s credit report? Have you ever? Because children aren’t preparing to take out car loans, buy insurance, or buy a house, they often don’t think about checking their credit. Often, the first time that a child discovers that they have been a victim of identity theft is after they reach adulthood and try to apply for credit, or a job that requires a clean credit history. By that time, the identity thieves have often disappeared long ago, leaving the young adult with the time-consuming and costly task of contacting creditors and clearing up their good name.

Protecting Your Child’s Identity

You want to give your child a good start in life, right? That’s why we send them to school and make sure that they eat their vegetables. Part of making sure that your child gets a good start in life is to make sure that their identity is protected. There are many things that you can do to protect your child’s identity. First, don’t give out your child’s social security number carelessly. You wouldn’t give out your social security number to just anyone, make sure that you are only giving your child’s number to trusted organizations. Second, know that your child’s credit report is clean. If they don’t have a job and a mortgage, they shouldn’t be listed on your child’s credit report. Third, consider employing a service to protect their identity. IdentitySupport.com works with LifeLock, one of the most reputable identity protection services out there, to make sure that your identity is protected, you can also get this protection for your child.

You protect your child from injury, eating too much junk food, and playing with toys that are not age appropriate. If your child gets online, you probably protect them by installing filters and laying down rules on what they can and cannot do. Make sure that you protect your child’s identity as well.