A recent research study by Javelin found that many kids are running around with compromised Social Security Numbers. 26 out of the test sample of 500 kids were found to have problem files. 3% of the kids were actual victims of identity theft where their credit reports were being used fraudulently by an unknown person to acquire goods and loans. An additional 2% of the children were found to have what they describe as a "contaminated" identity, where their Social Security Number appeared on someone else's information, perhaps by error, perhaps through fraud.
We know that sometimes a child's id gets stolen by someone they know, like a family member who has burned through their own credit and destroyed their chances to get an apartment or a car loan on their own. The data in the Javelin study also showed exactly how these juvvie credit reports were getting used: 62% of the 26 kids' reports showed a fake name, 23% of them already listed a foreclosure or account in collection, 15% had someone else's medical bills, 12% had credit cards and lines of credit or loans, 8% had utility bills and here's the scariest of them all, 4% had houses!!
4% of 26 kids= 1. Phew. One child's compromised credit report showed they owned a house. I shudder to think that if this study were repeated throughout the country with enormous samples we'd find this was an actual trend. That kids' credit was used to buy houses. It would shift a bunch of the burden for the collapse of Wall Street back onto Main Street where the credit reports are supposed to be checked thoroughly.
The following tips were provided by the US Department of Justice and the sponsoring company, Debix:
Keep your child's SSN private and don't carry it around. If someone asks for it (like the school) ask if another number could be used for identification and also how the information will be stored.
Write to all three credit agencies and request to know if the child's SSN is being used. Do not include the child's name and address because they will only tell you if the whole record is in use. (I didn't know this!) If someone named John Smith is using lil' Susie's SSN, that's how you'll find out.
Shred sensitive documents before discarding them.
Watch out for offers to your child in the mail, like credit card offers.
Be careful of any sensitive or private information your child posts on their social networking sites.
Keep physical documents and files secured and locked up at home.
Debix offers a child credit checking service for just $20/year and a family account (2 adults/2 kids) for just $88/year. Most of the other agencies won't even help you track children at all so this is interesting. If you sign up, please report back about your experience.