Part of getting older is finding yourself saying to your kids, “When I was your age…” Back in the dark ages when I was in fifth grade, I doubt phrases like “data breeches” and “class action lawsuits” were in my vocabulary.
How times change. This week, my ten-year-old daughter received a legal notice of a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit of which she is a part. Last year, her personal information – including name, address, and Social security numbers – was exposed along with that of numerous students in our county’s school system. The time period their information was available was fairly brief, and hopefully the data didn’t fall into the hands of identity thieves.
But in the meantime, if she decides to remain part of the lawsuit she will be provided two years of enrollment in a database monitoring program along with identity theft insurance.
As it turns out, child identity theft is a growing problem. And unfortunately, some of that theft is due to parents stealing their children’s identities because they can’t get credit on their own anymore. How does it happen?
When someone applies for credit, the lender will check with the credit reporting agencies. If no file exists, one will be created. The date of birth is not verified, so the DOB provided on the application is the one that will be used when the file is created.
Sadly, cases of child identity theft often go unreported when a parent is involved simply because the victim is unwilling to press charges or file a police report against the parent(s).
For more information about Identity Theft and steps to protect yourself, visit the Identity Theft area in Credit.com’s Learning Center.
Gerri
Detweiler – Personal finance author and Credit Advisor for Credit.com, Gerri contributes budgeting, debt
recovery and savings information online. She is also the co-author of Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights.
Gerri Detweiler Credit.com's Personal Finance Expert, Gerri focuses on financial legislation, budgeting, debt recovery and consumer savings information. She is also the co-author of Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights, and Reduce Stress: Real-Life Solutions for Solving Your Credit Crisis as well as host of TalkCreditRadio.comTalk Credit Radio. Reach Gerri at creditexperts@credit.com.
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