At birth, most countries give children their own social security numbers and credit reports and since these information seem meaningless at the moment, most identity thieves take this opportunity to change certain specifications in your child’s information. An Identity thief will assume the details of your child and since it is a blank slate the thief can easily obtain credit cards and other financial needs.

The problem is, when the child grows up and looks for a way to get his or her credit cards and other financial statements fixed their credit report will reflect negative information that has been long stated in their record.

Imagine how hard it is to get a negative report that has been there for 10 to 20 years. It would require a lot of work just to get the records straight meanwhile the child will have to struggle to get a credit card and acquire any kind of credit loan.

Since I don’t want it this to happen to anyone I have listed valuable information to prevent this from happening to you.

So how does Identity Theft Work – Especially for children whose credit reports are still blank?

Basically the Identity thieves will get the social security number of the child and find out other identity information using this number. They will then change this information and use it to apply loans, credit cards and spend money in different kinds of things. Most cases it is harder to identify new accounts used through this method.

The simplest way to make sure that your child doesn’t suffer form identity theft is to check their Credit Reports. You must constantly monitor this and it can be done annually or bi-annually.

An important factor to also consider is to never give out your child’s SSN number unless they are the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Also never carry the person’s number with you at all times. Leave it in a secure location and just make sure to take it out when you need it.

Plus, you should also teach your children (when they’re old enough) to never give out their SSN number to anyone unless it is absolutely required and only if you tell them to.

Another thing to consider is to show them sample credit reports and discuss with them that any of their personal information should not be disclosed to anyone they do not know to prevent any kind of identity theft.

Most of the time, identity theft for children are resolved quicker than the ones in adults since the time discrepancy and their credit reports will not match, they are given faster clearance than their adult counterparts.

However, this doesn’t mean that everything will go smoothly for them since it will still take them around 6 months to 2 years to clear their name properly. So as a parent, it’s your responsibility to protect your child to any kind of identity theft that may put his/her future in Jeopardy.

LifeLock offers Identity theft protection for children under the age of 16 for a mere $22.50/year (with promo code budget) with an adult subscription. Get your kids protected!

The rise of identity theft can also be attributed as a bad side effect of the internet. Due to the fact that as long as you have correct information anyone can use your account to buy products, transfer/pay accounts and access online credit information.

This has become a serious problem and a lot of people have been badly affected by it. Some people still cannot get new credit lines since they are being questioned about their identities. Other people lost their jobs and credibility due to felonies charged against their names.

Most of these individuals have been questioned by the police and are in constant contact with the authorities to clear their name. Most of them are innocent, but due to the sensitivity of the crimes and financial setbacks, most of them are kept for questioning.

Some even until two years and the damage to their lives has been immense.

In 2006 a census survey consisting of 44 questions has been conducted to know how identity theft has affected their lives. It also surveyed how identity theft happened and its diverse effects on people.

According to the survey, the sources of stolen information between 2003 and 2006 came from information theft via the internet (phising), lost and stolen wallets, and the workplace and home/car robberies.

Another shocking part that contributes to the rise of identity theft is that most of the respondent is victimized by people who have access to their information these include family, friends and colleagues.

Most of the felons who victimized people have committed other crimes, experiencing financial problems and addictions. These people are the ones desperate enough to steal personal information and risk getting caught using them.

Two-thirds of the 2006 respondents also noted that their information has been used to open new credit lines, 29% for new cable/utility and another 27% reported that the felon made charges to the victim’s existing credit card accounts.

The actual Costs to the Victims averaged around $1,884 dollars for out-of-pocket expense for travel, childcare, postage, purchasing police and court records and childcare

The biggest problem for these people though is the inability to clear negative records. They cannot be cleared to get credit and other essential needs due to the fact that their negative information remains on their report.

Most of the reasons stated that Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) kept putting inaccurate information back on the report (43%), credit agencies refuse to remove it (39%) and fraud alerts were ignored (30%).

It should be noted that there was a sharp increase in victims (24%) who stated that they were unable to get a police report, more than doubling from 2004’s study.

This figure is still increasing each year and this is why we must be more vigilant in protecting our identities by learning about identity theft prevention and consistently checking our credit and identity reports and informing the authorities about any kind of odd discrepancy in our records. 

Protect your identity from thieves with LifeLock identity theft protection service.

According to law enforcement agencies, identity theft has been one of the fastest growing crimes during these past couple years. What’s worse, criminals now take advantage of highly sophisticated technology to lure innocent victims into revealing all of their private and personal information. This article will focus on identity theft statistics, in order to give you a clear picture of this vicious crime and the importance of protecting yourself from it.

The first mention of it was in the 1990’s – identity theft statistics showed that in the period between 2001 and 2002, identity theft increased by 11-20%, while this figure leaped to 80% somewhere between 2002 and 2003. The survey conducted by the Better Business Bureau and Javelin in January 2006, indicated a slight decrease in the number of identity theft attacks between 2003 and 2006 though. In 2003, identity theft statistics highlighted the fact that the number of American adult victims was approximately 10.1 million – this number dropped to 9.3 million in 2005 and further decreased to 8.9 million in 2006.

Identity theft statistics also show there was a 700% increase identity theft crimes in Waco, Texas, between the years 2004 and 2005.And, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, a grand total of 3.6 million households fell victim to this dangerous crime, during a six month period in 2004. Identity theft can deeply affect businesses too. Reports reveal that it can cost a company anywhere between $25,000 – $90,000…..and sometimes, much, much more, when just one single laptop is stolen! Plus, these fees often include credit monitoring, fines, class action litigation and public relations damage control.

It has also been found that stolen laptops are the number one cause of identity theft attacks. The second most common cause being data leaks from various records that have been lost by outsourcing companies or business partners. This component consists of around 29% of all identity theft cases.

Well, the Identity Theft Resource Center states that “Studies on the total cost of identity theft vary. One study said that identity theft cost U.S. Businesses and consumers $56.6 billion in 2005.” Moreover, the same center conducted a survey on phishing, in the spring of 2006, and the results were, to say the least, quite frightening. Out of a total of 309 people that were surveyed, a whopping 165 said they had no idea what phishing was, while only 77 correctly answered.

However, the Javelin report of 2005 showed that offline/traditional methods of identity theft, continued to be more popular than sophisticated online methods. In fact, the identity theft statistics were just 11.6% online, and a massive 68.2% offline. In conclusion…..even though the total percentage of adult victims of identity theft has dramatically reduced since 2003, identity theft remains a notorious and dangerous crime. Keep in mind that identity theft statistics may vary from report to report, but the fact remains unchanged – you *must* keep yourself informed and take measures to protect yourself from this crime, or you could become its next victim. Be safe!