Child identity theft
Children may be more than 50 times more likely than adults to have their identity stolen, according to a report from Carnegie Mellon's Cylab.
From a group of 42,232 U.S. children from birth to age 18, the study revealed that 4,311 or 10.2 percent of the children had at least one other person using their Social Security number. This was over 50 times higher than the 0.2 percent rate for adults in the same population.The study, Child Identity Theft by Richard Power, Distinguished Fellow, Carnegie Mellon CyLab, was based on information supplied by the identity protection company, Debix AllClear ID, and is the first large scale child ID theft report ever published.The participants were enrolled in the Debix AllClear ID Protection Network after receiving notice that their personal information may have been compromised during a suspected breach of a major data base. AllClear scanned the records of over 40,000 children to check if, prior to the breach, any suspicious activity had been associated with their Social Security numbers.These are some examples of what they uncovered:• Chris, a 17-year-old Arizona girl, has over $725,000 of debt. Her Social Security number was linked to eight different suspects living in border states. The suspects opened 42 accounts including mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and bills in collections including medical, credit cards, and utilities.• Nathan, a 14-year-old Kentucky boy, had a credit history that went back more than 10 years. Several credit cards with unpaid charges, and a foreclosed mortgage were already in his credit history, all from a suspect living in California.• Lindsey from Texas applied for an internship during college, and after accepting an offer, a background check revealed someone was using her Social Security number for employment-and had been for many years. Lindsey was classified "unemployable" because she did not "own" her SSN.• Gary, a 17-year-old from Ohio learned that 12 people living in border states were using his Social Security number to obtain credit, utilities and employment. The thieves racked up over $58,000 in bad debt including a $30,000 car, thousands in an unpaid apartment lease, and over $23,000 in unpaid credit card bills.Identity thieves have discovered that child Social Security numbers are far more lucrative than adult SSNs. Because children rarely use their SSNs, and still more rarely check their credit history, misuse of their Social Security numbers can continue until adulthood. Since there is usually no activity associated with a child's SS number, typically, there is no name or birth date on file."This is particularly useful for illegal immigration," Power notes.Therefore, once an identity thief has a child's SSN, any name can be linked to it."Many commercial and public sector entities do not treat Social Security numbers as unique identifiers. It is possible for one SSN to appear on more than one credit file, employment report, or criminal history," Power explained. "One reason that minor SSNs are so valuable is that there is currently no process for organizations, like an employer or creditor, to check what name and birth date is officially attached to that SSN."Most children do not need a SSN and there is no requirement for one until they enter the workforce. Power noted that many hospitals include applying for an SSN as one of the steps for parents to complete before leaving the hospital with their newborn."One red flag that may warn of a compromising of a child's identity theft is the receipt of pre-approved credit cards or other unsolicited financial offers in your child's name," he suggested.To have one child's identity stolen is a tragedy. To have thousands taken is an epidemic.Power said that signing up for a service like AllClear ID can repair your child's identity at no cost if it is stolen. Those worried that a child's Social Security number may be misused can check it out at