You may not think your child has to worry about finances and credit standing, but if he should fall victim to identity theft, you will certainly worry about clearing everything! It’s a sad fact that children are prime targets of ID thieves, usually because parents don’t worry about establishing credit for a dependent until they reach adulthood. Should a thief come into possession of a child’s information, he can cause credit problems that might not be detected for years!
It’s not uncommon for a child to be issued a Social Security number at birth. It’s important, however, for a parent to make sure that information is kept as private as possible. Once a thief has that number, it’s easier to obtain credit cards in the child’s name and start spending with abandon. All personal documents pertaining to your children – birth certificates, Social Security cards, and even a passport if you acquire one for your child – should be locked up whenever not in use.
A good way to help ensure your child’s information is not distributed is to refrain from registering your child for mailing lists and magazine subscriptions. While there are a number of periodicals geared toward children, once a child is on a mailing list there is the possibility somebody will sell that list to other retailers. As junk mail arrives in your child’s name, there is the possibility some may come from credit card companies with “good news” of pre-approval. All a thief needs to do is fill out the form.
One urgent point to note: an identity thief could reside within your own family? While it’s not uncommon for a child in a bad home situation to be abducted by a family member, so there is the possibility somebody in dire financial straits may try to use a child’s credit standing for their own gain. It’s important to make certain if you give a friend or family member your child’s private information, it’s somebody you can trust. The more vigilant you are in caring for your child’s identity, the less problems he will encounter in adulthood.
Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Chesapeake paper shredding services and Chesapeake web design.
