Child identity theft
Child identity theft makes a lot of sense for a potential crook, since few expect child identity to be stolen and often, there is a large gap between the theft and the discovery of it - often for years, giving the perpetrator ample time to achieve his goals. Basically, child identity theft occurs when a boy or a girl identity is used by someone else to advance the impostor personal gains. Often the impostor is either a family member or someone known by the family. After a baby is born, parents and hospital arrange so child obtains a Social Security Number. A Social Security Number is literally all is required to open most credit accounts. So until a child applies for a credit in his or her name, which takes at least 15 years, an identity theft proceeds undetected, and often with some serious problems.
Two of the most damaging and hard to solve problems are
- identity theft that will affect a child credit and an employment history
- criminal offenses that will go on a child record
The first signs of that something is wrong can be somewhat vague and inconclusive, whereas others are quite alarming
- your child begins to receive suspicious mail, like preapproved credit cards and other financial offers normally sent to adults, in his/her own name
- you try to open a financial account for him/her only to find that one already exists, or the application is denied because of a poor credit history
- a credit report already exists in his/her name - if the child has a credit report, he/she probably has been targeted already, since only an application for credit starts a report
To check if your child has a credit report and to protect him/her from financial identity theft, you can use a secure Child Identity Theft Inquiry form from TransUnion. Also visit Identity Theft Resource Center for more information.
More information on identity theft, identity theft protection and Social Security protection.
Mon May 4, 2009 03:05PM | Copyright: www.bad-credit-advisor.com | More in Personal Finance | Comments (0)
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