There are many different types of identity theft that we are facing today. One that may have prove to have a major impact is child identity theft. This form of crime is rapidly rising, may take a long time to discover and the thieves may actually be know to the victims. In this article we will discuss the various aspects of this type of identity theft.
Child identity theft happens when someone uses a minor’s identifying data for their own purpose or gain. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that there are around 500,000 new victims every year. This has become a huge issue affecting our youth now and will into the future.
One of the major problems with this type of identity theft is that the crime may not be discovered until the child reaches adulthood. The theft can occur when the child is an infant leaving decades of access to the identity by the criminal. The victim may discover the problem when they get to an age where they get a job, apply for credit or try to rent an apartment.
Even worse is the fact that the perpetrator may be someone known to the family or even a family member themselves. More and more an ex-spouse or other relative may use a child’s social security number in order to obtain credit for themselves. This is very a disturbing trend as someone you trust may be pulling the wool over your eyes.
As you can see it is imperative for parents to be vigilant and protective of their children’s identity information. A good habit to get into is when you check your credit you check theirs as well. To combat this form of identity theft, credit monitoring services also offer options to track you child’s credit as well. A minor is not in position to prevent this from happening, but you are!
At identitytheftstories.net we look to these sites and others for further information about identity theft related issues and solutions. We hope that you will find them useful as well.
PayPal Identity Theft Checklist | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
U.S. Charges 22 in Identity-Theft Scheme - WSJ.com
AOL.com Video - How to Avoid Identity Theft
A 17-Year Nightmare of Identity Theft Finally Results in Criminal ...
