August 05, 2010
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Children Under Attack, Pt.2
How can you protect your child?Previous...
There are a number of things that parents can do to protect their child's SSN from being stolen by credit card and identity thieves. Begin by finding a safe place to store your child's Social Security card. You should never keep your SSN card in your purse or wallet with you credit cards. This rule of thumb goes for your child's card as well. Store them at home or in a lock box for safe keeping and never give out the numbers to anyone. This holds true for youth sports, physician offices, and healthcare insurance. The member's id is all that is required for insurance purposes. It has been rare that any credit card or identity thief has used youth sports organizations to prey on the innocent, however, it has happened. Be safe, don't hand it out. Youth sports have no business asking for your child's SSN.You should not have to hand your child's SSN over to him or her until they are ready for their first job at the age of 16. At that time, you should check out the potential employer to make sure they are legitimate. There have been numerous reports that credit card and identity thieves have preyed on the innocent by placing false advertising on social websites for bogus jobs. They use these job applications to gain personal information which they use to establish credit and apply for new credit card accounts. Also be careful when setting up bank accounts for your child; make sure the account does not have over-draft protection.
Run a credit history report on your child every year to assure that no credit card or identity thief has been using your child's identification. By law, you and your child receive one free credit report each year. It is now required by the Department of Revenue that they notify you if they suspect that your number or your child's number has been used illegally; this doesn't guarantee that they will catch every incident of identity theft.