Identityfraudresources.com

Why a child identity theft victim is the most lucrative victim for identity thieves.

Child identity theft has never been high on our list of priorities. We find it difficult to see our child as an identity theft victim, such an adult crime. Research has shown that we are making a very serious mistake if we don’t. Why is that?

Identity Theft Crime In The News

A counterfeit identity, (a falsely documented fictional identity) cannot be used to interact with government agencies or law enforcement officials. They are quickly exposed as fakes. The thief must be able to acquire and use an active, stolen Social Security Number that is already listed in government records. This number may be dormant as well, either because its original owner is dead or too young to be active.

A child’s SSN is the perfect target according to the latest identity theft news. What’s to stop it from being your child’s SSN?

ABC News’ Neal Karlinsky originally reported a disturbing identity theft story for “World News Tonight” on March 19, 2005.

He reported how a 3 year old ended up with credit trouble due to identity theft online. His very first piece of mail in his lifetime, was from the county prosecutor telling him his identity had been stolen. He was too young to even read it!

MSNBC.com calls stealing a child’s identity the “cruelest form of identity theft” in an article from Oct 11, 2005.

Child Identity Theft – A Vastly Understated Crime

New federal statistics show nearly 250,000 people complained to the FTC in 2004 that they were victims of identity theft crimes. (A misleading figure since many people still don’t report the crime. A FTC survey in 2003 found 9.9 million people had been victimized in one form or another.)

Four percent of those reporting were under age 18, a low number but bear in mind, the majority of child id theft situations have not been discovered as yet.  Generally, these thefts are discovered when the rightful owner uses the social security number legitimately for the first time and discover that they are victims of credit identity theft.

“Keep in mind, applying for and receiving a new ssn is of little consequence if the thief still has the ability and desire to access that child’s personal information.”

Identity Theft Services Findings

An identity theft service article declared that many children lose their identity not to online predators, but people who are close to them and have easy access to their personal information. This includes parents, guardians, and other family members, the same people who are normally tasked with protecting them.

On that list, you may as well add anyone who has to have access to that child’s information, such as school administrators, baby sitters, clinics and doctors’ offices.

Credit Fraud Protection In Your Doctor’s Office

Don’t believe it’s easy to steal information from most doctors’ offices?

Think about it, where are most receptionists’ desks in relationship to the front counter where all visitors stand? On the other side of the window, isn’t it? What do they usually have on their desk when you show up? That’s right, patients’ folders, many of them open for all to see. Introduce a cheap digital camera to the situation and bingo, another identity theft victim! Or two or three!

One very important approach a parent or guardian can take with child identity theft would be to apply for a new social security number. This can be done after the crime has been proven and all necessary steps have been taken to correct it.

Keep in mind, applying for and receiving a new ssn is of no consequence if the thief still have access to the child’s personal information.

Another more realistic approach would be to enroll the child with an identity theft company. One very well known protection package is the Identity Theft Shield, put forward by Prepaid Legal Services Inc.

In Summary

A child not yet 18 has nothing to lose and everything to gain by changing his/her SSN. An adult or a child victim can benefit quite a bit from a new SSN, as long as they are just starting to build up their credit history. Usually, changing The SSN of a child victim is a good idea, especially when the identity theft incidents do not diminish. This could indicate multiple uses of the stolen identity.

Another good move would be to get that child enrolled in a service to protect him or her from the identity theft crime.

It should be quite apparent that “child identity theft” is very crucial to the success of identity thieves. In order to prevent identity fraud, or at least put some protective measures in place, you must start now, don’t be mistaken about that.