Child Identity Theft.

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

The use of counterfeit identity, (a falsely documented fictional identity) cannot be used to interact with government agencies or law enforcement officials. The thief must be able to use an existing Social Security Number that is already listed in government records: an identity that is dormant either because its original owner is dead or to young to be active. A child's ssn. 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. His first piece of mail was from the county prosecutor telling him his identity had been stolen.

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

New federal statistics show nearly 250,000 people complained to the FTC in 2004 that their identities had been stolen. (A misleading figure since many people don't report the crime. A FTC survey in 2003 found 9.9 million people had been victims of identity theft.)

Four percent of those reporting were under age 18, a low number but bear in mind, the majority of child identity theft numbers 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 is made aware of "their" bad credit.

“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.”

Who else steals children's identities?

People who are close to them and have easy access to their personal information. This includes parents, guardians, and other family members. On that list, you may add anyone who has to have access to that information, such as school administrators, baby sitters and clinics and doctors' offices.

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? 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' records. Introduce a 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 applying for a new social security number. This can be done after the crime has been proven and all necessary steps have bee 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.