Here’s a fact most people don’t know: Almost 500,000 American children have their identities stolen each year. Identity thieves obtain a child’s Social Security number (SSN) and name to establish credit for themselves. Here’s another fact: Child identity theft is the most quickly-growing crime in the country. The following will endeavor to educate parents and other about how to prevent this crime from affecting the futures of their children.
Pittsfield, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/19/2012 -- Most folks are aware that personal identity theft occurs fairly often in the U.S. Child ID theft is rapidly becoming the most successful type of identity theft because it is so hard to notice. Parents don’t think to check their child’s credit report as the child grows up. Why would they? The only form of true identification a child has in his Social Security number, and mom and dad are supposed to keep it under lock and key. Unfortunately, the people that are supposed to protect that vital identifying number are most often the people who steal it. That sounds pretty awful, and it is. One reason a parent might inadvertently steal their child’s SSN is to open a utility account in the kid’s name while they pay off an older one that has resulted in having the service terminated due to non-payment of the bill. Another reason this happens is because some parents feel that the child’s SSN is their property, not the child’s, until the youth grows up, so they can use it to help themselves out of a jam if they want to. While this is not true, it’s what they believe, so they use the SSN as they see fit.
There are other ways child identity theft occurs. Sometimes it’s the thief’s good fortune that a person accidentally drops their child’s SSN while taking another document out of their wallet. The thief picks up the card and walks away, ready to go on a serious shopping spree. Sadly, though, most of the individuals who commit this crime are trusted family members or friends of the victim’s family. This is why it is vitally important that no one ever, ever gives out a child’s SSN to anyone. One doesn’t want to think that one’s friend or brother would do such a thing, but they do, and then further damage their emotional standing with the victim’s parents by using the child’s SSN and name to purchase vehicles, take out mortgages, or set up credit card accounts. Keep a child’s SSN in a safe place so no one can steal it. That is the key to preventing this crime.
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