Yes, I admit to being an alarmist to the rather new trend in criminal activity, Child Identity Theft. If you are yet unaware of the issue then let me be the herald that calls you to arms. Your children and their future economic viability are at risk. The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that over 5% of the reported complaints regarding identity theft were from individuals under 18. By many accounts, that statistic seems to be on the rise.
Omaha Police officials say criminals are stealing the Social Security numbers and other forms of identification of children and using them to usurp the children’s identities. They then use the identities to open accounts, obtain credit cards, buy cars and get driver’s licenses. Often the information is stolen and then sold to an illegal immigrant which may leave children of Hispanic descent at an even higher risk simply due to the demographic similarities. Identity Thieves look for the identities of children from their same national origin. From a governmental perspective, not much is being done to combat child identity theft or to even determine the extent of the crime against children. Here are five things that you can do to help to protect yourself and your children from becoming a victim:
1. Only disclose personal information if you know how it will be used and avoid giving personal information out on the phone, through the mail or on the Internet. Avoid carrying your Social Security card in your wallet. Memorize the number and keep the card in a safe place. Parents need to keep an eye on their children while their children are on the Internet. The rising popularity of blogs and social networking sites, like myspace.com, has caused some of these Web sites to become playgrounds for identity thieves and predators. Don’t let your son or daughter post his or her phone number, address or school name. Shred any paper that contains a Social Security number on it.
2. Be skeptical of credit card offers in the mail. Parents who have opened credit in their child’s name, as a joint account holder, don’t need to be too alarmed but monitor your child’s mail closely. Also, make sure your motivations for a joint account are pure because you too will be under scrutiny one day by your adult child.
3. Check with the credit agencies to see if credit reports exist. Credit reporting agencies do not knowingly maintain credit files on minors, so if one exists; it’s likely to be a problem. At Experian, consumers can call (888) EXPERIAN or (888) 397-3742 and select the fraud option. TransUnion advises parents of victims or young adult victims to contact the agency by e-mail, childidtheft@transunion.com.
4. Check for an earnings report from the Social Security Administration. Obviously something is wrong if your child is 10 years old and there are earnings reported to Social Security. You can get your earnings record by requesting it online, calling in or visiting the office. Consumers receive this report once a year from the SSA. Contact the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213 or stop by their office located at 7100 Center Street, 2nd Floor. An appointment is helpful but not required.
5. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. If you think your child’s identity has been stolen, contact the FTC via the phone at (877) IDTHEFT or (877) 438-4338; Or in Omaha, you can call the Omaha Police Department’s Detective line for the Fraud Unit at 402-444-5652.
Finally, having a credit strategy as a module in your over-all financial & estate plan is a good idea. We advocate including Credit in your next discussion with your Financial Planner. Find ways to build good credit for you and for your family members. Visit www.encorefinancialservices.com to learn more about credit and the Financial planning process.
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You failed to Mention http://www.lifelock.com which offers ID theft protection. You can also sign up others, including children for an additional 2.00 a month and they protect up to a Million per person.
There is aslo http://www.familysecure.com which is well known to protect your children and family.
Lastly, I wanted to warn you to be weary of sotres that claim their machine is down. This most often happens at holiday time when they think you will not be paying attention to your receipt. They say they have to scan your card using the old method for Credit cards. I lost over $300 at a well know Super Store and also one at a brand name store because of this.
I have a new theory now. If they have to do that…whatever it is, it’s not worth the loss or the hassle, walk away and go elswhere.