Should your toddler acquire a jury-duty summons in the mail, or debt collectors start calling for your tween, don’t be so smart to dismiss those interactions as a quirk of mistaken identity.
More than 1 million kids — or 1.48 percent of minors — were victims of identity theft or wile in 2017, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. Two-thirds of those stricken were age 7 or younger.
“As adults, we’re hypersensitive right now to the idea that our agreements are at risk and our personal information is out there,” said Al Pascual, senior foible president of research and the head of fraud and security at Javelin. “We’ve Jedi mind-tricked ourselves into point of view this is an adult problem.”
Minors face some of the same hazards as adults do, with their information being compromised in data schisms.
But thieves are more likely to capitalize on kids’ data. Among proclaimed breach victims last year, 39 percent of minors became schlemiels of fraud, versus 19 percent of adults, according to Javelin.
While of ages make prime targets for their account balances, the “blank slate” a young man provides can enable a criminal to do more damage by opening new lines of depend on before someone catches on.
More from Investor Toolkit:
When did you wear update beneficiary designations?
3 tips for handling stock market sways
Channel anxiety to avoid bad investment decisions
“There’s a lot of value in that there’s no confidence in report tied to that Social Security number,” said Pascual.
Alleged synthetic identity theft, where thieves create new identities using a aggregation of real and fictitious information, is another risk for minors, said Eva Velasquez, chief big cheese and president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, which helps consumers reckon with with such fraud. The change to randomized Social Security tot ups in mid-2011 means a crafty thief could potentially assemble a profile around a number before there’s a victim, she said.
“We’re talking to clans who are having these numbers issued to their kids, and they’re already soiled,” Velasquez said. A newborn’s SSN, when you go to file taxes, “might eat earnings associated with it and a five-year credit history.”
Minors are also much sundry likely than adults to become victims of familiar fraud — sense the identity thief is someone they know.
Javelin estimates that 6 in 10 son victims personally know the perpetrator, compared to 7 percent of adults. Forefathers friends were the most common suspect, accounting for a third of instances.
“The big threat is going to be people who are close to the child, for sure,” Pascual declared.
You might think that being 5 years old would be a pretty accomplished “It wasn’t me” defense against a fraudulent five-figure credit card paper money. But experts say untangling identity theft and fraud committed against a trivial is just as complicated as when an adult is the victim.
You’ll still have to go as a consequence the same steps with that bank or creditor to prove the inveigler, said Melba Amissi, chief operating officer at Identity Sentinel, which sponsored the Javelin report.
The high rate of familiar bilk makes it tougher to build your case, said Javelin’s Pascual. Perpetrators may bring into the world used your verified home address or phone to apply for the account, for standard. And victims may not be willing to make the necessary law-enforcement complaints to document the dilemma.
“Do I file a police report against my brother?” he said.
With that in care for, it’s key to take steps to prevent your child’s identity from being compromised in the essential place and act quickly if you suspect a problem.
1. Keep data out of circulation
Don’t overshare private details, such as your child’s Social Security number, bring up ITRC’s Velasquez. Not every entity that might ask for it (think: summer posture or the doctor’s office) actually requires it.
“Once it’s out of your hands … there’s not a lot you can do,” affirmed Velasquez. “You’re counting on the company to be good stewards of that information.”
It’s also noted to talk to your kids about protecting their information, responded Amissi at Identity Guard. Parents should know what insulting information their children are storing on electronic devices or sharing with third carouses, she said, and teach them safe internet behaviors — including how to recognize potential scams and phishing attempts.
2. Lock down documents
Cognizant of fraud is often a crime of opportunity: The perpetrator either already have knowledge ofs or has easy access to a child’s Social Security number and other catalogues.
Keep any sensitive personal and financial information out of sight, said Velasquez at ITRC. Impound up paper documents such as birth certificates and tax returns, and password-protect your dwelling-place electronic devices.
3. Freeze your child’s credit
Depending on the state where you reside, you may be accomplished to proactively freeze your child’s credit file so that no one (not retaliate your child) can open new lines of credit in his or her name, Velasquez disclosed. Check with your state attorney general and the three paramount credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — for details on the handle.
If you take that step on behalf of your children, make established that you’re not the only person to know the PIN to lift the freeze, Velasquez signified. (You might share that detail with your estate planner or the woman named as guardian in your will, for example.)
4. Monitor for red flags
A ascribe freeze only helps on credit, and there are plenty of other avenues where a Community Security number or other data can be misused, Amissi said. Dream up fraudulent tax returns, for example, or exploitation to obtain medical treatment or con law enforcement.
So be alert for unusual calls or mailings that would direct attention to to an adult problem, like that jury summons, collection calls or a cloddish of preapproved credit card offers.