Children the most popular victims of identity theft

Many people are surprised to learn how frequently children are targeted for identity theft. In fact, 10.2% of children have been victims of identity theft over the last year, while only 0.2% of adults had their identities stolen.

Why do identity thieves target children more than adults? Well, one major advantage is that a child's credit rating is pristine. Most children didn't experience a devastating bankruptcy at age 4, or forgot to pay their phone bill after their 8th birthday. For that reason, they have an attractive credit rating that can be used to get lower rates on loans and other financial services.

Another key advantage is that children don't feel the need to check their credit scores. Why would they? Most parents and children assume that, since they've never taken out a loan or used their Social Security Number, their credit rating would be perfectly untouched. Unfortunately, it's because of this fact that identity criminals love to prey on children.

The final reason why identity thieves find it easier to target children is because Social Security Numbers can often be predicted. Each number of an SSN refers to a certain factor. This could be the state in which you were born, the date of your birth, and other information. By decoding these numbers and monitoring local birth announcements, identity thieves can predict the SSN of that baby from the moment he is born.

Because of all of these factors, a number of horror stories have come to the surface in recent years. For example, the youngest victim identity theft was only 5 months old. Meanwhile, an identity thief used a 17 year old's personal information to open over 40 accounts and rack up nearly a million dollars in debt.

So how can parents prevent identity theft from happening to their children? Well, the most important thing to do is teach them the importance of identity protection at a young age. Be sure that they know the dangers of giving out information online. Don't give them access to their Social Security Number until they understand how important it is to protect it. In addition, shred all documents involving their personal data before throwing them away.

The Social Security Administration is also doing its part to help prevent identity theft. In response to identity thieves being able to predict Social Security Numbers as soon as the baby is born, the SSA recently announced a new randomization project. Under these new regulations, social security numbers will no longer be as easy to predict.

To comprehensively protect your child's security, the best thing to do is order an identity monitoring service like ours to keep track of any changes involving your child's information. Using a service like this, you can rest assured that your child's identity remains safe and secure – even in an age where child identity theft is at alarmingly high levels.

Detecting Identity Theft

ID Watchdog will alert you as soon as any new or changed records containing your personal information are detected during our routine scans.

When you receive an alert, you will be directed into your ID Watchdog account where you will be asked to:

• » Verify the authenticity of any detected records, OR;
• » Report the record as unrecognized

Any record that is unfamiliar to you is a red-flag warning that your identity may have been compromised.

Once you report a record as unrecognized or unfamiliar, ID Watchdog will initiate the resolution process.

Next Step: Resolution

Identity Theft Resolution

In the event that you are presented with a record that is unfamiliar or unrecognized, (for example, an a address for a home you've never lived in or a new credit account you never opened) there is a strong possibility that your identity has been compromised.

Even records which appear to be simple data processing errors need to be addressed in order to prevent an incorrect and potentially damaging evaluation of your credit or personal profile by lenders, creditors, auditors and employers.

ID Watchdog is the only Identity Intelligence Service that employs a team of certified Identity Resolution Experts who will work with you and on your behalf to get any fraudulent information removed from your records.

100% Guaranteed.