Child Identity Theft and Ways to Avoid It

Many of us know about identity theft and its negative impact on our society today. With the many ways identity theft can occur it’s no surprise that almost anyone can become a victim, including children. In this episode we wanted to expose the rising threat of child identity theft and provide insight into the steps you can take to safeguard your children against this growing threat.

We are chatting with Basil Paul, a fraud resolution specialist at Econocheck, who helps identity theft victims recover from the damages they suffered. His knowledge and expertise is highly valuable in a day where identity theft is a rising crime.

 

Important notes:

A quick way to safeguard your identity is to freeze your credit. You can do this by calling the bureaus and requesting they place a freeze on your report or sign up through an app. Check out the apps Lock & Alert by Equifax, myTransunion by Transunion and Experian by Experian for freezing credit.

Childhood identity theft has been increasing over the past few years. According to a 2018 Child Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research, over 1 million children have been victims of identity theft in the past year and 2/3 of the children affected were under the age of 8.

Some common types of childhood identity theft are based on what the thief is trying to accomplish:

• Financial ID Theft – commonly a synthetic ID created by combining the child’s social security number with and adult’s date of birth to create a false identity to apply for loans, lines of credit, etc.
• Tax childhood ID Theft - this crime uses the child’s identity information to collect earnings or to avoid tax liens or obligations they owed.
• Medical ID Theft – the thief can use the minor’s information to receive medical services or use it on billing documents or statements to avoid paying for medical services themselves.

Be selective about who you share your child’s social information with. Not everyone who asks for your child’s social security information needs it. You have the right to ask what the information will be used for and how it will be used, stored and protected. If you are still wary, ask if there’s an alternative to providing your child’s social security number.

Calling the credit bureaus is a good way to check if there has been fraud in your child’s name. Usually bureaus will ask for some verification from the parent or legal guardian in order to verify the child’s report.

Sometimes kids give out certain information without knowing. Educate your children by having a conversation about sharing sensitive information with people they don’t know. Teach your children smart Internet behavior and give them pointers on how to spot scams and suspicious solicitations.

If your child’s identity is stolen, contact the IDProtect service center and the credit bureaus.

Triangle’s Better Checking account offers identity theft protection for the whole family and covers children up to the age of 25. Take the extra step in protecting your identity and your child’s identity by opening up a Better Checking account and registering for this valuable service.

For more information on the IDProtect service offered through Better Checking visit trianglecu.org.

View this episode's transcript. 

 

Links:

2018 Child Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research

Get protected with Better Checking

 

Child ID Theft resources:

ftc.gov

Transunion.com