Hundreds of online
businesses are finding inactive Social Security numbers online – most of which
are assigned to children under the age of 18 who have not started using them
yet - and selling them under different names to help people establish fake
credit. The scheme may lead to significant debts for children that might be
almost impossible to pay off.
Better Business Bureau is warning parents to be on the lookout for the
signs that point to their child’s identity being compromised or stolen.
For adults, last year
alone, 8.1 million Americans became victims of ID theft, resulting in the loss
of $37 billion, according to a 2011 report from Javelin Strategy and Research.
While this number is exuberantly high, NBC TODAY reports that it becomes harder
to define how many children are actually affected by identity theft because of
the fact that most cases go undiscovered for years. However, an identity theft
monitoring company, Debix, found an alarming 4,000 cases of tainted identities,
out of only 40,000 children.
“It’s terrifying to think that your child or even unborn
child’s identity could be comprised for the sole reason that they have clean
record,” said Michael Clayton, President/CEO of the Better Business Bureau in
Southeast Texas. “It is extremely
important that parents take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of
their child’s precious and helpless identity.”
BBB urges parents to follow these important steps to
secure their child’s identity:
Be aware of how to
obtain your child’s credit report. Getting access to your child’s records is actually a different
process than obtaining your own. Your child’s report cannot be obtained using
the congressionally mandated free credit report website when under the age of
13 and even sometimes for children ages 14 to 18, http://AnnualCreditReport.com. For
parents with children under the age of 13, the easiest way to obtain your
child’s records is through Trans Union. According to NBC TODAY, if Trans Union
says there is no report, odds are good that your child is in the clear. But if
there is a report — or you have a specific reason to believe your child is a
victim — you'll want to follow up with the nation's other two major credit
bureaus — Experian and Equifax — and get a report from them, too.
Recognize the signs
of trouble. Watch
out for red flags that indicate there might be a problem, such as your son or
daughter receiving pre-approved credit card offers or calls from collection
agencies.
Know what to do if
you suspect that your child has fallen victim. According to the FTC, every parent
should check their child’s credit report on their 16th birthday.
It’s not good to check it too often, but checking then leaves sufficient time
to fix errors and activity before their child goes off to college and tries to
obtain financial aid. If suspicious activity arises, parents must contact all
three credit bureaus and request a report immediately. From there depending on
your state's
credit freeze rule, placing a credit freeze should be considered.
For more
information on securing your identity, visit www.bbb.org/us/bbb-news/. In Southeast Texas, call 409/835-5348 or
855/BBB-SETX.