1 in 10 children have someone else using their Social security number

[Liberal_in_LA]

Report on Child Identity Theft Reveals 1 in 10 Children Targeted by Identity Thieves


It may be hard for most parents to imagine that their children could have homes in foreclosure or huge bills in collection before they are even old enough to apply for student loans for college, but a new report released by Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab – “Child Identity Theft: New Evidence Indicates Identity Thieves are Targeting Children for Unused Social Security Numbers” – reveals that one in ten 10 children scanned for the report had someone else using their Social Security number (SSN) to commit identity theft and fraud.

Based on scans of over 42,000 U.S child IDs by an identity theft protection company, the report found that 4,311 of the children in the report – or 10.2 percent – had someone else using their Social Security number to purchase homes and automobiles, open credit card accounts, secure employment, and obtain driver’s licenses. Other key findings include:

The largest identity theft fraud ($725,000) was committed against a 16-year-old girl,
303 identity theft victims were under the age of five years, and
The youngest victim of identity theft was five months old.

http://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/2011/05/19/report-on-child-identity-theft-reveals-1-in-10-children-targeted-by-identity-thieves/

[leveymg]

1. A 12 year old can buy a car?

Obviously, that car dealer didn't doing much Due Diligence. Now that we've run through your credit card, here are the keys to your new Ferrari - happy motoring! Tell your friends!

[MountainLaurel]

2. In my SIL's case, it was her own mother

Who opened up credit cards in her name when she was still a teenager, wracking up about $50K in debt. SIL is still trying to clear up her credit history 10 years later.

[SheilaT]

3. This is also a good example as to why

social security number should never be used in connection with getting credit, credit cards, or loans. My understanding is that the SSN is only ever needed by entities that might need to report financial things to the IRS, such as employers, banks, investment firms. Not credit card companies or department stores.

I will not give out my SSN to get a credit card.

[bobbolink]

5. Or... identification for school, etc.

[jtrockville]

6. Lots of utilities and home services (ex: Comcast) require SSN

Sorta puts you between a rock and a hard place.

[Scuba]

4. Note the study was done by "an identity theft protection company"...

...that just might benefit from people thinking their identify is at great risk.

[PeaceNikki]

7. I had my identity stolen about 9 years ago.

I was fresh off of a bankruptcy, though, so the joke was on them.

[Scuba]

8. I'll bet it was still a hassle. n/t

[PeaceNikki]

10. HUGE one. For years.

And the cops in my community didn't give a shit. There's still an incorrect address listed on my credit bureau reports because of it. It was a good opportunity to take my maiden name back. So I did that and knew that any more applications in my married name were fraud. The only thing they were able to successfully open was a Sprint cell phone account. I took care of that right away. Two years later I tried to open a Sprint account for real and they wouldn't do it because of fraudulent activity in my name. I was like... uh, I AM THE ONE WHO CAUGHT IT AND TOLD YOU GUYS ABOUT THAT!! I've been with Verizon since.

[Scuba]

12. If it works for you, you might want to try a phone from CREDO...

http://action.credomobile.com/specialoffers/apr11/2b.html

Their info says they're to the good guys. No donations to war-mongering, anti-environment pols.

[PeaceNikki]

13. Yeah, I've heard awesome things about them.

When my R2DROID2 has reached end of life, I will look to them, for sure!

[blondeatlast]

9. Good catch. the other day, I heard in the background an

ad that alluded to children and id theft and thought "wth"?

And now, a few days later, along comes a study--funded by an identity theft protection racket...

Sure, it's a coincidence. Yup, riiiiight...

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. Honestly, I doubt that.

Not even 1 in 10 adults have had their identities stolen. An adults SS number is going to be in many more systems than a childs, and thus more likely to be stolen.