Posts from July 16th, 2021

Children are often victims of identity theft for two reasons: They have a clean identity that probably hasn't been used much and can be exploited in many ways, and there's often a large gap between the theft and when it's discovered.

Fraudsters will usually wait years before applying for a mortgage or credit card with a child's personal information, used to create a shadow identity. They'll build credit with a cell phone service account, for example, and build to financing a car. Stealing a child's name, Social Security number (SSN) and date of birth can be enough to get thieves started.

Parents need to be the first line of defense against child identity theft. It's a crime they may not realize has been happening for years. Most victims are 12 when their identity is stolen, but discovery doesn't happen until they are 17, according to a survey by ExperianÂ...

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