There is a lot of talk about identity theft in the media today but few are reporting on the fastest growing demographic of identity theft victims, children. Children are at particular risk for identity theft due to the fact that they receive a valid social security number at birth and few families bother to monitor their children's credit reports since they assume there's nothing to monitor. Years later when the child reaches adulthood and attempts to buy a car or get a credit card, the fraud is noticed and the application is declined. What follows this event is a desperate and often futile attempt to clear the credit record so the young adult can get on with their life. This article will discus this phenomenon in more detail and review some simple steps you can take to protect your child from identity theft.

How Child Identity Theft Happens

Children generally get issued social security numbers at a young age because their parents need it for health insurance or tax reasons. The government is busy making rules to keep adults protected from identity theft, but unfortunately their social security number is still one of the most commonly used identification methods for children, at places such as doctors offices and schools.

Furthermore, few parents even think about checking their child's credit report since the child isn't using any credit until they are about eighteen years old. Even adults who recognize the importance of monitoring their own credit history, and do so faithfully, ignore the need to keep tabs on their children's credit reports. Meanwhile the government urges individuals to monitor their own credit without mentioning that they should do the same for their children under 18. Most disturbingly is that the websites set up to provide free annual credit reports do not allow you to view your children's records. You must send a letter through the mail in order to gain access to this information.

How Child Identity Theft Usually Plays Out

Often the child does not realize that they have been a victim of identity theft until many years after the fact. This poses a couple of problems for the new adult in regards to clearing their credit history. Thieves who commit identity theft against children open new accounts and take out loans in the name of the child. Statistics show that it is often much more difficult to clear up accounts that were opened new as compared to existing accounts with fraudulent charges made on them. Secondly, the accounts are frequently many years old and deep into collections by the time the individual becomes aware of the child identity theft. Even if the accounts are paid off after going to collections, the black mark remains from the original lender for many years.

Protecting Your Child From Identity Fraud

The most effective way to protect your child is to check their credit reports on an annual basis. You should also stop giving out their social security number unless you absolutely have to. The IRS and sometimes your doctor are the only ones that have the right to ask you for it. And don't carry your kids' social security cards with you - memorize the number instead and leave the cards in a safe place.