Not even kids safe from identity theft
When children are victims, crime can go undetected for years, experts say
Millions of cases of identity theft are reported in the United States each year.
And although most of the victims are adults, children are not immune to having their identities stolen.
Indeed, according to experts, children often make easier targets for several reasons, including the fact that the identity theft can go undetected for years.
"Almost every child is a potential victim," said Gabby Beltran, victim adviser with the San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center. "All thieves need to do is to obtain a child's Social Security number. It can be devastating for them (children) later in life."
A financial identity theft against a child occurs after someone uses the child's Social Security number and name to establish new lines of credit. There are 140,000 identity frauds committed against children per year in the United States, according to a study by ID Analytics Inc., a consumer risk management company. The study also found that thieves open up credit cards and are involved in wireless financial activities about 60 percent of the time.
So just how do thieves acquire a child's Social Security number? The process is often easy for them.
Since the 1980s, most children have been issued Social Security numbers at birth as a way to stop thieves from applying for a child's Social Security number before they do. The new safeguard, however, had an opposite effect on stopping fraud, some experts say.
Many thieves have been able to figure out a Social Security number using a government-issued sequence based on when and where the child was born, said Beltran.
The good news is that the Social Security Administration started issuing random numbers last year, but those born before the new initiative are still at risk.
And thieves still can steal identities by hacking into computers or snatching Social Security cards.
Thieves also have the upper hand because the age of the applicant cannot be verified by credit issuers based on the Social Security number alone. Thus, they can put any age they want on a credit application. And the age on the first credit application becomes that person's "official" age in terms of credit history, according to experts.
Beltran said a child's credit history can go undetected for years, since children should not have credit reports and parents would not expect a problem.
"By the time accounts go into collection (agencies), it could take several years … from the commission of the crime," said Beltran. "There are some 16-year-olds who can't get a job, for example, because they learn they have a criminal history (report on the number) or bad credit. That should be a red flag."
She said other red flags may include getting calls from collection agencies or receiving bill notices and offers from credit card and loan companies.
Chaplin said another common way thieves steal children's Social Security numbers is through parents simply losing the cards.
"Never carry their card with you," he said. "Put it in a safe place."
He suggests giving out a child's Social Security number only sparingly and to ask why it is necessary.
Beltran said parents and relatives may use a child's identity thinking that the act is harmless. One example may be parents who don't have Social Security numbers, such as undocumented immigrants, who sometimes use their child's identity to apply for loans or to turn on utilities.
"They (parents) may have good intentions of paying (their bills) … but it is still illegal" to steal your own child's identity, said Beltran.
Tom Joyce a spokesman with the Better Business Bureau in Chicago, suggests that parents check their child's credit report around their 16th birthday. Joyce said this will leave sufficient time to fix errors and other activity before the child goes to college and tries to obtain financial aid.
The process for obtaining credit reports for children is different from the process for adults. Parents must work directly through the credit reporting agency, such as TransUnion, and include a copy of the parent's identification, a copy of the child's Social Security card and a copy of the child's birth certificate, among other things.
Richard Figley
Independent Associate
Independent Associate
614.395.2313
No comments:
Post a Comment