Business Education and Training

Identity theft is very much in the headlines these days as Internet usage continues to rise and the acceptance of online shopping becomes more widespread. However one of the types of identity theft that receive very little coverage and goes largely unreported in child identity theft. This article will cover child identity theft research and give advice on the best ways to protect your child.

Children in the United States are given a social security number (SSN) at birth. This is a way of getting them into the system so that they can be traced by the government and also given benefits like health care. The SSN is a very important piece of information that can be used as a way to confirm identity, so, in theory it can be used in many ways. It can be used to register with a new doctor, when enrolling in a new school or even everyday things like signing up for a video card.

If this information falls into the hands of an identity thief then it can be used to open bank accounts, sign up for credit cards and many other deceptions. This could lead to using a credit card to rack up huge shopping sprees in the identity of another person.

In the case of children this is made worse because people don’t think to monitor a child’s credit report. They don’t think that a child will be spending money so they need think it is pointless. The bad credit history will only become apparent when the credit card companies send a letter to you or your child reaches an age to apply for a credit card and finds that their credit record is awful. This can severely disadvantage the child in getting loans and a head start in early adulthood.

The lessons to be learned from this are to keep the SSN safe and secure. Do not reveal it to anyone other than the IRS or maybe your local doctor. Get a credit check on your child’s name every so often. It will probably be fine but it pays to be safe and have this knowledge. Stay informed of the latest scams via the news and internet.