Protect Your Kids From Identity Theft by Freezing Their Credit
It’s good if you’ve taken steps to protect yourself from identity theft. But if you’re a parent, you’re not done yet – your child may well be a victim.
More than 1 million US children were victims of identity theft, two-thirds of whom were under the age of eight, according to Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2018 Child Identity Fraud Survey .
And these individuals are more valuable to scammers than their parents, ” Al Pascual, Javelin’s senior vice president of research, told NBC . “Criminals can have a lot of problems with a child’s identity because it has never been used before,” Pascual said. “When a bank or other company asks for a credit report, they won’t find anything, and so the criminal has a clean pallet to work with.”
Once stolen , a child’s social security number can be sold for about $ 2 on the dark web and then used to create a “ synthetic identity, ” a new form of fraud that is gaining traction. Thieves use an SSN but attach a fictitious name, birthday, etc. to it, in order to be able to create a new credit file and apply for loans, credit cards, etc.
It is difficult to proactively prevent this from happening when so much information about us is so readily available. But you can freeze your child’s credit reports if you live in one of the 29 states where parents and legal guardians are allowed to do so. Chances are, your son or daughter under the age of 18 will not be applying for a credit card or home loan any time soon. Freezing their credit gives you some security. Be sure to do this with all three major credit bureaus: Equifax , Experian, and TransUnion .
And once a year, check your child’s credit report at Annualcreditreport.com (if they’re under 13, you can’t do it online) to make sure everything is in order. Note that there are strict rules for this:
If you would like to determine if there is a credit report for a minor, you should contact credit reporting companies and provide the following information about the child:
- Legal name
- The address
- Birthday
- A copy of the child’s birth certificate.
- A copy of the child’s social security card.
And information about yourself:
- A copy of your driver’s license or other government ID with your current address.
- Copy of current utility bill
Make sure your driver’s license and utility bill share the same address. You may also need to prove that you have legal custody of your child in cases where the credit company has a legitimate need to obtain such evidence.
Send your request and information to all three credit reporting companies.
Finally, if you find that you or your child has become a victim of theft of personal data, the Resource Center for the theft of personal data – a great place to start gathering information and correct the situation. You must also report the situation to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and file a report with the police. More information is available here from the FTC and also from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau .